Within Temptation
by WingedSilhouette
Summary: The one person she thought she knew best turns out to be the one person she can’t trust. Everything she knew about him changed in the instant he said her name. Now he's going to keep her, hurt her, & if he gets the chance he might even kill her A/H Dark
1. Chapters I & II

**Hello my amazing readers! This story kinda came to me randomly and I fell in love with the idea! It does have some minor A/H but I think that if you don't like a/h that you would be able to stand this. Yeah so thanks to my sis (itstoolatenow) for betaing this!**

**Disclaimer: Everything belolngs to Eoin Colfer! I own nothing! :(**

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__It is remarkable how similar the pattern of love is to the pattern of insanity. _

_-The Matrix – Revolutions_

_I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,  
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.  
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,  
in secret, between the shadow and the soul. _

_-Pablo Neruda, Sonnet XVII_

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__I_

If there was a night that would have marked the start of a new age, this would have been that night. The full moon, high above the trees, cast both eerie and somewhat romantic shadows across the gentle hills of the Irish landscape. Grasses were succumbed to the wishes of the gentle breezes while the trees stood, unyielding, to their attempts to sway. The sky was an ocean of softly twinkling stars that gave off their pale light, tinting everything with an almost sickly green/white. Couples were littered along the gently flowing river whispering sweet nothings into the ear of the other or else, staring at the sky wishing they could drown in its black depths, never to be seen by the world again. The only sound the pierced the otherwise silent night, was that of the occasional twitter of a passing bird or the chirp of a lone cricket. But other than that, the night was as still and silent as the deadest of dead. Standing just at the bend in the gently flowing river, stood the mightiest of oaks, easily over one hundred years old. Its branches were spread up towards the sky, as if offering up worship to some heavenly being. The branches, though, were bare; their leaves scattered over the ground, freshly fallen. It moon was positioned in the sky so that it seems as though it was being cradled by the branches of this impressive, ancient oak.

Standing just under the oak, so small that at first glance one might miss it, was a tiny figure bending down as if searching for a dropped or lost object. As if having found what it was looking for, the figure straightened and turned its face towards the brilliant radiance of the moon. At first glance one might assume that this figure was a child, given that the silhouette was no more than three feet tall, but a closer look would reveal that the proportions were not that of a child, but that of a woman, albeit a relatively petite woman. The figure slowly removed something that may have been a helmet, and placed it by the edge of the giant oak, only stopping once to stroke the fragile bark of the tree. She turned so that the light of the moon was shining directly on her face and it was revealed that she was, in fact, no more human that a dog. Her ears were pointed and seemed to be being massaged by her tapered, mocha brown, fingers. Auburn hair grew short and wild on her head, giving her a dangerously beautiful look. She had once (and with good reason) been described as "black widow pretty" by one who knew her best. One would not want to get on the wrong side of this particular female. This was a captain in the most elite police force above and below the world; the LEPrecon.

Holly Short was particularly enjoying the familiar sight and smells of the Irish countryside for she had not been here in almost four years. It reminded her of old times, old adventures, and most prevalent, old friends. She had not seen Artemis Fowl II in four years, since they had successfully captured both Opals and set the world back to its normal routine. They had thought it best not to keep in touch given all that he had put her through but Holly found herself, many times, wishing that they had said goodbye differently than they had.

Clearing her head, the LEP captain prepared herself for the magic restoring ritual that would heal her energy, health, and most importantly (as the name suggests) her magic. She bent down again, searching for a soft spot of soil in which to bury the tiny acorn in her hand and, in doing so, complete the sacred ritual, but before she could do so, her head snapped up in the direction of a dry leaf crunching on the ground. Her trained eyes scanned the area with the utmost care, searching for the culprit. She had just decided that it was nothing and directed her attention back to the task at hand when she heard it again and, this time, she jumped to her feet to search for the direction of the rustling. It was an even, syncopated, rhythm; not a wind. Footsteps; perhaps more than one set.

Her feeling of deepest dread intensified when she realized the irony of the situation. He head twisted sharply at an odd angle and her bone made a noise somewhere in between a click and a snap. Paling, she quickly comprehended that she didn't even have enough magic to shield and, instead, slowly pulled from her shoulder holster a tiny, deadly looking gun.

"There's no need for that Holly." Came a voice, breaking the silence of the night, sending shivers down her spine. The voice only existed in her nightmares and sometimes, in those few moments in between waking and dreaming in which her life was reflected on in depth. It was an icy, frigid voice, void of any happiness or joy; she had not heard this particular voice in at least seven years. It was the voice of Artemis Fowl. But it was not the voice she had become accustom to, fond of even. No, this was the voice of the young, sinister, plotting Artemis; the voice of the Artemis that she had been first introduced to. With that voice, this could have been the first time they had met, despite the fact that she had known him for almost eight years now (eleven if you take into account the three years that they had lost together).

Holly watched as the youth stepped out of the shadows into the pale moonlight. Though, she had not seen him in almost four years, this could unmistakably be the Artemis Fowl that she knew (or else a very well put together clone). He was taller and his hair grew a little longer but other than that he had the same sickly sallow pallor that glowed in the moonlight, the same black designer suit, and the same piercing, ivy blue eyes that looked deep into her soul. His bloodless lips were curled into a smile of that of a conspirer who knew that his plan was working.

"Artemis," Holly called to him watching as his smile widened, "Is that you?" The two rows of perfect teeth that could have belonged to a vampire were revealed in full just as a hulking figure appeared at Artemis' and quickly stood in front of him, blocking him from view and threat. Holly was puzzled by Butler' behavior; after all they knew each other well enough that he should know that she posed no threat to them.

"Of course it is I. It really has been too long if you do not recognize me." Artemis said from behind Butler in the same hostile, frigid tone. "Butler, stand aside so that I may see Holly clearly." The prodigy commanded. Butler's dark shape moved aside so that Holly could, once again, see Artemis' aloof expression.

"Hello Artemis, Butler." Holly said holstering her weapon but keeping her hand nearby. She saw disbelief break the surface on Butler's otherwise professional demeanor. His eyes widened in astonishment and something else that might have been trepidation.

"How do you know my name?" Butler demanded to know, looking utterly astounded.

"Obviously, I just told you to stand aside and she heard me use your name. Do not be confused be her devious ways." Artemis said a little too quickly as though he wanted to assure Butler before Holly could contradict it. Holly's head was pounding; what was going on here? Butler didn't remember her? But Artemis did?

""We've known each other for more than seven years." Holly said somewhat shakily, speaking directly to Butler. "We fought Koboi and Spiro and we saved-"

"She speaks nonsense, of course." Artemis said airily, waving a reassuring hand at Butler. "I warned you she would do this. Don't listen; just keep your aim steady." Holly froze as she realized that Butler was holding a sort of gun in his hands. She immediately knew that this sort of gun shot hypodermic darts that she had no hope of escaping. Her instincts told her to grab her neutrino and start firing but these were her friends; there had to be an explanation.

"What are you doing?" She asked them in a hushed voice as if by speaking quieter that the situation would clear itself up. All the while her hand was inching towards her neutrino.

"Something I should have done a long time ago," Artemis said almost huskily. Holly's eyes widened with alarm but just as her hand had grasped her neutrino to pull out, Artemis raised hand (that Holly had not honestly noticed was raised having been focused on the Butler problem) fell to his side, signaling for Butler to shoot. Butler's giant fingers pulled tight on the trigger sending at dart straight at Holly's chest faster than she could follow. She barely had time to blink before an icy, cold pain was felt in her chest and rapidly spreading. Black spots appeared in her vision and she was forced to her knees on the dry ground. Giant hand grasped her but then let go suddenly.

"No Butler, I will do that. You and Juliet must get her cell ready for her. She will need…" Artemis voice drifted up to her at what seemed like a far distance and then faded into a murmur as much gentler, familiar hands seized her waist and slowly, carefully, almost lovingly, lifted her into a body bag. For some reason that Holly could not fathom, she smiled at the feel of those hands and almost cried out when they left. As her eyes began to droop, her last conscious thought was: _Not again._

_II_

Physically, the first things that Holly felt were the familiar steel cot and concrete wall of her cell in the Fowl Manor. But then emotional feelings crashed over her like tsunami waves more prevalent than the physical feelings. Betrayal, anger, confusion, pain, and once more, so strong that she felt as though she were drowning in it, betrayal. Artemis had kidnapped her once before, sliced off her finger, lied to her countless time, but this was the worst. When Artemis had kidnapped her last time, he had not known her but this time… And to think that she actually thought he cared about her as much as she cared about him. Heat rushed through her, pounding her head, making her feel sick as she realized just how deep of a hole she was in. He knew everything; everything about the People, everything about her, all of her weaknesses. He had the upper hand this time, unlike last time when he knew nothing.

She shivered as she lay on the steel cot that she knew, this time, would be attached to the floor; he would not want to make the same mistakes he had last time. She cracked an eye open and met the dull blue eyes of Juliet Butler. As Holly had suspected her eyes were hidden behind reflective glasses that would counter her _mesmer _if she had wished to. Juliet stepped back quickly, sending her blonde locks flying, as Holly sat up faster than she had anticipated. Black spots appeared in her vision and she had to hold her hear to keep from falling back down on the steel cot.

"Hello?" Juliet's voice floated to her from a distance. Holly shook her head to clear it and the next time that Juliet spoke she sounded much closer. "You awake yet? Artemis told me not to wake you up but to keep watch over you. I honestly don't know why but I do know that if someone was watching me sleep I would wake up like that!" She snapped her fingers to demonstrate. "I told him this but he told me to suck it up and get going. I was surprised that you slept for as long as you did. He better not get mad at me because you woke up on your own."

"Juliet." Holly said glumly realizing that, like Butler, Juliet did not recognize her either. "What is going on?"

"Whoa!" Juliet exclaimed, taking one step back then two steps forward, "How did you know my name? Can you, like, read minds? I saw a show on aliens once that said you had telekinetic powers and you would read our minds if you could. I guess that is why Artemis made me wear these dorky looking glasses and told me not to take them off around you. Maybe they-"

"Juliet, where's Artemis?" Holly interrupted, half desperate for answers from someone who did not watch TV specials on aliens and half desperate to beat the crap out of him. If this was some sort of a joke on her, it was in very poor taste. Juliet shrugged at her query.

"I don't know; probably in his study trying to figure out how to travel through time. But he did say to comply with _all_ of the hostage's wishes, except for being set free of course. So I guess I can go get him, if that's what you want." Holly nodded fervently and watched Juliet shut the heavy handle-less door slowly. The second that she was gone Holly checked the cell for weak spots, though she knew that there were none to find. Artemis had relieved her of her gun. helmet, and Shimmer Suit, leaving her in the cami and shorts that she wore under the suit.

Holly shrank against the wall opposite the cot and cradled her head in her hands. Something that Juliet had said had confirmed and intensified her feelings of betrayal. Artemis had said comply with the hostage's wishes. _Hostage's. _She was a hostage now; not a friend. After all that they had been through together, how could he do this to her? She had kissed him for Frond's sake. Betrayal scooped out her insides leaving her with nothing to hold onto. She felt as though her sorrow overflow to her eyes and tears dripped, unchecked, from her lashes and onto the concrete floor, right by an Armani loafer. She looked up from her tears and saw Artemis Fowl standing before her with look of complete sympathy adorning his features despite the reflective lenses that he was wearing.

"Why are you crying Holly?" He asked her gently as she jumped to her feet, not taking the hand he had offered.

"I'm not." She said stubbornly, wiping away the evidence. Artemis tutted sympathetically, holding out his arms trying to pull Holly into a hug, but Holly just backed away so far that he back was against the wall.

"Don't touch me." She almost yelled, her scream echoing around the small cell, abhorrence dripping off her voice. Artemis took an automatic reflexive step back and pulled off an offended look quickly to hide the shock in his eyes. "Tell me what's going on!" She snarled at him. Artemis smiled his vampire smile and said in a condescending voice, "What do you think is going on, Holly?"

Before Holly could restrain herself, she slapped the smirk right off his face. Literally. She felt a certain pleasure but also guilt at the sight of Artemis clucking at his cheek. His hands came away to reveal an angry red make that was roughly in the shape of a tiny hand. The smile disappeared from Artemis' face as he ran a hand through his midnight hair.

"Now now captain, none of that now or I will have to be forced to call Butler to restrain you and I don't think that either of us wants that." The smile returned to Artemis face but didn't reach his eyes. His eyes told a different story, though Holly could not figure out what emotion was portrayed there.

"Why doesn't Butler remember to me? Or Juliet? What have you done to the people you love this time?" Artemis faltered for less than a second but the recovered and spoke.

"Nothing more than a simple mindwipe, Holly; no damage done."

"Why?" Holly demanded to know.

"Because I _needed_ them to forget. They, Butler especially, were being somewhat of a nag when I told them of my plans. Of course they would object. They do not share the same thirst for it was I do." Holly stared at him for half a second before it finally clicked. Her mouth fell open and she was more aghast than she had been in her entire life.

"Gold," she breathed. "You're after gold again."

"That's one name for it." Artemis smiled mysteriously. Holly opened her mouth to inquire the meaning of his statement but he continued. "I was a fool to think that the gold you gave, and I use the term gave loosely, me would last me a lifetime. I have been out for almost a year and since then, all I have wanted is more. To see it's luster, its allure, to actually feel value being held in my hands… you have no idea. It is something that I crave more than even food or drink. It is more of a basic need of mine really. I knew that kidnapping you was an efficient was of gaining gold so I tried a second time, just to see if it would work again."

"What What about everything between us? You were changed Artemis, you cared about people and people cared about you! Think about your parents, siblings, the People me. Are you willing you willing to give all that up just to get some gold?"

"People can fail you, gold can't." Artemis said simply, scrutinizing Holly with the utmost care.

"I thought we had something." Holly whispered almost to herself.

"My elf kissing days are over." Artemis quoted at her and Holly recognized that it was her own words that were now cutting her heart apart like a samurai sword.

"You know what they can do." Holly yelled trying to keep her voice steady. "They will kill you, along with Juliet, Butler, and me if they have to. They won't let you go this time. Think about what you're doing!" She begged him. He cocked his head to one side and gave sort of a crooked smile.

"Don't I always think?" Holly shivered knowing that she was running out of option. "Do you think that I haven't thought about all of that? It's worth it to me Holly, it all is."

"They won't give it to you; they never will."

"Then you won't leave." Artemis said coldly, "Then you will die." Holly couldn't restrain herself; she gave a horrified cry. He would sacrifice her for gold and not bat an eye.

"Get out!" She commanded him, feeling the tears coming,

"I believe this is my cell." Said Artemis raising a thin eyebrow.

"You must comply with the hostage's wishes." She spat at him, unable to keep herself from staring into his eyes, looking for the smallest trace of the old Artemis.

"Very good," He commended her, "I did say that didn't I? Well I guess this is goodbye then, for the time being. If you should need anything just say the word." He bowed once to her and turned to leave.

"Is gold really worth all this?" Holly screamed at him, unable to stop herself. Artemis stopped but did not turn back to her as he spoke.

"No."

"Then why?" Holly screamed desperately.

"There are many different kinds of gold." Artemis said simply, walking out, leaving Holly more confused than she had been before.

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**Ok so I hope that u guys like the first chapter! OH and for those of u reading Let Me Go, new chappy up soon (this weekend/early next week)! For those of you not reading Let Me Go...please go read it! Anywho next chapter for this up soon. Please please please review! :D**

**WS**


	2. Chapters III & IV

**Hey my amazing reviewers! Yeah so i have been very busy lately in my life; school, and CROSS COUNTRY started so I'm either spending my time studying or running so I've been having trouble finding time for fanfic. But, thankfully, here is the next chapter (hopefully Let Me Go will be updated tommorrow, its almost done). Thanks to my sis (itstoolatenow) for betaing this one! Again thanks so much for all the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to be Eoin Colfer, I'm not so I don't own Artemis Fowl.**

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Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.

-_Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart__

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__III_

Foaly knew a lot of things; he knew how to dismantle and remantle an LEP helmet in less than ten seconds. He knew that trolls would tap dance if provided with the correct music and he also knew that Commander Trouble Kelp was planning on asking out Holly Short before the end of the month. Foaly also believed many things; he believed that Elvis Presley was still alive and hiding out in Canada, he believed that his marriage was going down the tubes, and he also believed that Holly nursed a soft spot for a certain Mudboy. But there was one thing that Foaly neither knew nor believed was happening. And yet, the proof of the situation was right before his eyes, mocking him on the screens that were the dearest things to him above or below the earth. It was like some sick déjà vu from his darkest of nightmares.

One minute he was perusing the lasts edition of Centaur Today and the next, he glanced up at the lifeline readouts on the screen only to discover that all of Holly's were flat lining. A few seconds to restart his heart and gather his thoughts and a little investigation showed that it was only a minor helmet malfunction (aka the helmet had lost contact with the body). As relieved as he was to find that Holly was not in fact dead but had only taken off her helmet, something bugged him about the situation. Her locator had also malfunctioned and no matter how hard he tried, his computer would not bring up the classification of the error. In fact, the more he looked, the grimmer the situation became; all of Holly's equipment had failed her at exactly the same time. But, as he looked closer, he discovered that it _hadn't_ all failed; it had all just been _shut off._ That meant either she had shut it off for some reason or another, or someone up there knew how to.

Foaly pulled up the audio-visual clip from five minutes before the equipment had failed and fast forwarded through it, trying to find anything that would make her shut everything off. When Foaly heard the voice of the old Artemis Fowl, he seriously thought about quitting the job on the spot. He watched and listened as the drama unfolded on the screen before him, helpless to his friend, and not even finding enough strength in himself to call the Commander until at least ten minutes after the audio-visual had been shut off by thin, pianist fingers.

As he waited for Commander Kelp, Foaly assessed the situation in his head. There were only three reasons that he could think of (and that were logical), why Artemis would do something like this. Reason number one and probably the most optimistic reason for the People, was the Artemis needed Holly's help with something but knew that she wouldn't say yes another way. But that still didn't explain the issue that Butler didn't remember Holly whatsoever, and Artemis seemed to want him not to remember. The second reason that Foaly could come up with was that Artemis was after the same thing that he was after the last time that he kidnapped Holly; the gold at the end of the rainbow. And probably the most unlikely of all possibilities was that Artemis wanted Holly as much as she wanted him. Foaly concluded that each and every possibility was bleak.

Foaly's reverie was interrupted by Commander Trouble Kelp, already red in the face having been briefed by a techie, slamming the door open. Before he started speaking he took a deep breath, looking as though he were preparing himself for the worst.

"Again?" Trouble asked that clearly stated that he hoped this whole thing was a joke.

"Yessir." Foaly said smiling weakly, not even cracking a joke, "But far worse this time, considerably. Fowl retains all knowledge of the People. Artemis knows everything about us; our strengths, our weaknesses, our ways. He will know what to do and exactly how to execute his plan, assuming that he has one. However the Butlers, both Juliet and Butler, remember nothing of us, which is a massive blow. They, as they did in the first Fowl siege, have little to no moral standards; they will do what Artemis tells them to do no matter what. You remember what Butler was like."

"Yes I do," said Trouble thoughtfully, "And I do not fancy having to face him in hand to hand combat again. But that doesn't matter now. What matters is what we are doing to get Holly out of there without loss of life, even human life!"

"Our best strategy, I think, and believe that I am right, is to wait to see what he wants and _then _figure out what we are going to do."

"Foaly," Trouble fired up, "This can't be like last time! We can't afford it again! I saw the bill for the last Fowl siege and it was about what I make in one hundred years. This has to be clean and simple, not even a time stop! But we can't risk Holly's life by busting in there. Fowl's too smart for that, he will be ready for that."

"Yessir," Foaly said looking grimmer than he had before, "And sir?"

"Yes, civilian?" Foaly ignored the civilian comment and continued.

"What if…the worst comes to worst?" Trouble shuddered and closed his eyes, taking a deep, ragged breath.

"If worst comes to worst, we will have to comply with her wishes; the wishes that she has previously stated." Foaly looked confused for a half a second but then comprehension flashed across his horsey face. He quickly typed something in on one of his many computers, and keyed in a password. Two seconds later a page of almost solid text appeared on the screen. It was a page that every officer who came into the LEP signed either in agreement or disagreement. It was set up very soon after and because of the Fowl siege; it stated that if the officer was captured by a human, the LEP had forty-eight hours to try and negotiate with the kidnapper for the release of said officer. If the negotiations fail, the LEP has the permission and the right to bio-bomb the vicinity; even if the officer is within the blast zone. The whole operation now depended on whether Holly had agreed or disagreed to this clause. Trouble secretly hoped that she didn't agree to it; if she didn't there, was a much better chance that she would live.

Foaly scanned the page quickly, his eyes growing more and more horrified as he read down.

"No!" he said dropping his head into his hands when he finished. Trouble's heart fell to his toes.

"We have to," Trouble said morosely, "If that's what it-"

"No! We can't, we shouldn't be able to! How can you-"

"You think that I want to do this anymore that you do?" Trouble yelled causing Foaly to jump to his feet in shock. "It would kill me to give that order, Foaly; absolutely kill me! But that is why we have those damn forms in the first place, to let her chose how she wants to die in a situation like this! All that we can do now is hope that worst doesn't come to worst. Now, I must go and inform the council about this, but the second that we get flight clearance, we are getting up there." He turned to leave but at the door he turned back to Foaly."

"Just in case worst does come to worst, get some bio bombs ready." Foaly could have sworn that he heard Trouble's voice break but, as he thought about it later, maybe he had just imagined it.

_IV_

Commander Trouble Kelp of the LEPrecon:

Though you might have already discovered, I have taken Holly Short captive for the second time in this life (do pardon the letter but I feel this will be better than face-to-face negotiations). I will only ask two things of you this time and I will be on my way, never to bother you or the People again. Number one (just as last time), I require one metric ton of gold, 24 carat, small unmarked ingots. But this go around, I want all of it to keep. I _will not_ accept any less. The second thing that I ask is that, if she pleases, you let Holly Short stay with me for as long as she wants after the gold has been delivered. Both of those points are not, _under any circumstances_, negotiable. Remember, Captain Short's life is on the line. I will give you forty-eight hours. Any more than that and you will not get Holly back alive. Do not test me; if I have to, I will _prove_ that I am completely serious. I look forward receiving my gold. Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen.

Artemis Fowl II

P.S. Please do not bore me with an attempt to enter my dwelling. You cannot; not even with the counter charm that No1 put into place. Trust me.

Artemis typed the last letter of his post script and sent it without even reading it over. _That should do it, _Artemis thought, leaning back from his laptop, thinking. Of course the LEP could still enter his dwelling, he had not yet persuaded No1 to remove the counter-charm on his house, but they would not doubt his word. After all, he had figured out how to escape the time field, why wouldn't they believe him?

He looked around his familiar room and sighed. The same white walks, black canopy bed, and black furniture had been there for almost all eighteen years of his life. He loved the familiarity of his room; it was the one place where he didn't have to pretend.

After another moment of thought, he pulled up the live streaming video feed of Holly's cell onto his computer. Her back was turned towards the camera so that he couldn't see her face, but he could tell from the way that her shoulders hitched slightly, that she was sobbing quietly. It ripped his heart out to put her in this cell and see her in this much pain without being able to comfort her, but this was how it needed to be. He remained himself to keep his eyes looking towards the finish and not concentrate on the journey.

"It's ok Holly, love." He said, oh so quietly, to the monitor that showed Holly's weeping form. "This will all be over soon. And then, it you wish it to be so, we can be together." A soft knock on the door cause Artemis to jump but he quickly cleared his throat and sat up in time for Domovoi Butler to enter his room. Artemis did feel guilty about mind wiping him, and Juliet too, but it was necessary as he had told Holly. His lust for gold had been getting too strong and Butler's morals were getting in the way of things. Yet Artemis still needed a muscle man, hence the mindwipe. He just thanked God that seeing Holly has not cause a totally recall.

"Master Artemis, the hostage is hungry." Butler said, standing just in the doorway of Artemis' room, looking a little wary to enter in any further.

"Then get some fresh fruit and vegetables!" Artemis snapped at him. "Really Butler, why are you telling me this? Are you not capable of finding the food yourself?" Butler shifted uncomfortable at the rebuke but stayed put. "Something is bothering you, Butler. What it is?"

"That creature in the cell," Butler started, "What is it?"

"I told you Butler," Artemis said with the air of explaining something for the tenth time to a toddler. "It is nothing of importance to you. You do not need to know that information." Butler nodded even though he wasn't satisfied with the answer. It was his job to agree with Master Artemis even if he didn't.

"You still don't look contented. Come now, what is bothering you?" Artemis inquired.

"It's this situation. I feel as if…as if I have done this before." There was a moment of silence in which Artemis fervently hoped that emotions could not be seen in his expression.

"Déjà vu." Artemis said airily, after a moment more. "It happens all the time; it just means you're human. Do you really think that you would forget if this happened before?" Butler gave a brief chuckle and shook his head.

"I guess not, Master Artemis. I suppose I should leave you to your work."

"Butler." Artemis said stopping Butler from turning and leaving.

"Sir?"

"The fruits and vegetables for the hostage, please."

"Yes sir." The door was closed a second after Artemis turned back to his computer screen. He shifted uncomfortable in his chair. Butler remembering _something_ was to be expected, but all the same, he would have to watch Butler and Juliet more closely for further signs of recall.

He turned his attention back to the monitor with Holly's cell on it. She was so beautiful in the most dangerous and deadly way. She hated him now, but in the after the next forty seven hours, she would be begging to stay with him. He knew it; he was a genius, after all.

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**_Please _review guys! I seriously get so much more motivated when you review my stories! CHEER ON YOUR CROSS-COUNTRY TEAM! ;)**

**WS **


	3. Chapters V & VI

**A/N: Um..I really don't have anything improtant to say so here is the next chapter! OH YEAH; thanks for being the amazing readers that you are and reviwing this story! I really appriciate it! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl.**

_V_

Holly rubbed her eyes, trying to stem the flow of tears that seemed to only become increasingly more diligent in her attempts. She had pulled herself together long enough to ask (to an empty room and feeling rather foolish) for some food, though it was not out of hunger; her request was made in the hope that she could talk to Artemis. Her hope that Artemis would actually be the one that brought the food was very slim, but talking to Butler or Juliet could prove more informational that talking to the emotionless mask that Artemis always wore. But still, eventually she needed to talk to Artemis. Not only because she was hoping that a little bit of the old Artemis was buried somewhere deep within his being, but also she needed to warn him again about the danger to his life if he continued this. If his stunt was allowed to continue the LEP would blue rinse his home for sure, and in doing so, eliminate every living organism which dwelled in the house; Artemis, Butler, Juliet, and her own self included. Nothing and no one would escape the blast. She had never felt so hopeless, so alone, so desperate…

Holly hit the rough concrete wall in frustration so hard that when she looked down, her knuckles were red raw and a tiny bit of blood had escaped her veins. It was only a tiny bit but with it came a lot of pain. A curious sensation came over her. Holly stared at the blood dripping down her arm with a look of an almost loving abhorrence and she realized: it felt…_good. _She was never one for self-mutilation but this felt better than good…this felt _fantastic. _She could control how it felt; she was in power of something for pared to the emotional turmoil that she was facing, this was nothing…_nothing_! All she wanted to do was forget, all she wanted to do was feel again. She didn't know what was making her do it; it shouldn't feel this good, she shouldn't want it this much after just a little bit of pain. But she did, more than anything else in the world, she did. Again and again she pummeled the wall and again and again her knuckles were smashed until blood covered her hands and ran down her arm, dotting the ground with scarlet. A mad laughter bubbled up in Holly, starting somewhere in the back of her throat and escalading to a full, over blown howl of laughter that quickly turned to desperate tears of the deepest agony. And it was then that she knew…

He was killing her. Artemis was _killing_ her, but not the kind that happens in an instant. The slow, degenerative killing; the kind that made you go mad before you even knew what was happening to you, the kind that mad lovers fell into when they were separated from their significant other for long periods. Desperate, desperate, _desperate_…

Holly jumped though the heavy steel door opened almost silently. She huddled in the corner of the cell, trying to hide her arms from Butler who walked in carrying a tray laden with fruit. Butler's eyes immediately flicked to her arms though he showed no surprise or shock. Holly realized that Artemis and Butler must be watching her from the many monitors in the manor.

"Master Artemis would not like seeing you like that." Butler said simply without much emotion. He set the tray down in front of her and turned to leave.

"Why would he care?" Holly said sullenly, her voice thick from crying. Butler stopped, turned back, and then breathed in heavily as if wondering whether or not to say something that was obviously on his mind. "Why would _Master_ Artemis give a damn about me? What did he tell you Butler? If he cares about me so much, why is he doing this?" Now Butler, being the most loyal of bodyguards, would haven normally never have revealed any information about his master, but there was just something about those hazel eyes…

"He doesn't tell me anything." Butler attempted to lie, momentary forgetting that Artemis was probably listening to their conversation. "His plan is to get the gold and nothing more, I suspect."

"No, there's something else," Holly whispered as Butler edged towards the door. "There has to be. _He_ wouldn't do this to me if there wasn't an underlying pretense." Butler stopped and an odd thought ran through his brain as he comprehended what Holly had said.

"Have you and Master Artemis met before?" Butler asked.

"Yes Butler," Holly said in a voice not much above a whisper. "We've met many times. How did you know?" she asked, hopeful that he was remembering something of her. Butler shrugged and looked away.

"He just knows a lot about you. And…" he stopped and hesitated slightly. "And Master Artemis isn't one to fall in love at first sight." A stunned silence followed his words in which Butler wished fervently that he had not just said what he thought he had, and Holly tried to comprehend it.

"What?"

"You can always tell," Butler said before he could stop himself, digging himself into a deeper hole. "Especially with Artemis; he loves you very much."

"But then, why all of this?" Holly asked gesturing to her cell, "Why this cage, why this _pain_?" Butler shook his head.

"No one can truly understand Master Artemis' plans until they are through. Not even me and I've been working with him since birth."

"Do you remember nothing, Butler?" Holly asked hopelessly. Butler took a good look at the petite, little thing in front of him and his brain fluttered. Memories pushed at the boundaries in his mind and odd images flashed behind his eyes. He tried to remember, he really did and he knew he knew, but he just couldn't remember.

"I'm sorry, Holly." Butler said turning to leave. "But Master Artemis is right; I don't need to know anything." With one last look at her trembling form, Butler left, locking the heavy steel door behind him. It was only after he left that Holly realized that he had called her by her name. Maybe there was hope after all…

Holly sat down and picked at the food Butter had brought her, not really hungry or seeing what she was touching. If she could just get out of this cell, the rest would be easy. If Butler was right about Artemis' feelings for her, it would be simple to catch him off guard. But there were some underlying pretenses in that plan that she tried to convince herself were not there. She no longer wanted to see Artemis. She _needed_ to. She had to look him in his eyes and tough his skin; maybe even taste his lips. Butler had confirmed her suspicion that Artemis had the same feelings for her that she had for him and because of this, it made the whole situation a lot more complicated. If he loved her, if he _really_ loved her, why did he capture her and keep her? Why?

She knew, though she denied it to herself at the present, that Artemis was going to die one way or another, be it by LEP force or if Holly herself would be the one pulling the trigger. And even if he didn't die due to this situation, after the whole ordeal was over, she would never be permitted to see him again.

Holly suddenly felt the overwhelming need to sleep and without even dragging herself over to the steel cot, she sank to the ground, the apple that she a nibbling on fell from her limp fingers and rolled across the cell.

_VI_

Artemis watched in silent horror as his most loyal companion spilled his darkest secret to Holly. He had expected her to find out eventually but much later in his plan and it would have been him telling her. This put quite a damper on things. He watched Holly's face flick from pain, to confusion, to something that could have only been a subtle joy, and back to pain again. Her chest was heaving from the sobs and then there was the issue of the blood that was running down her arms. He never expected her to turn to _that_. It took all of his will power not to bust into her cell and restrain her so she couldn't hurt herself. The only thing he could think to stop himself was, _stick to the plan, let things play out, and then she will be fine. _Over and over again he thought those words, and he only just restrained himself, though a single tear still escaped his eye. It hurt him to see her hurt; more than he was comfortable with.

Presently, Holly was looking rather calm and pensive, Butler having just left; she even nibbled on a little bit of an apple. Artemis glanced at a monitor that showed the hall just outside of Holly's cell. Butler was lumbering down it, looking deeply remorseful and maybe even a little anxious.

"Just a moment, Butler." Artemis said into a walkie talkie and he saw Butler put a hand to his ear as he received the message.

"Yes, Master Artemis?" Butler said warily.

"Please come here a moment." Butler sighed deeply and turned on his heel to head in the opposite direction. Artemis sat smiling, sensing that his new plan was better than his old one; plus with the added bonus of less loss of life. He would have to transfer a hefty chunk of money into Butler's account for telling Holly of his feelings for her earlier than anticipated. Artemis raised a cup of the finest Earl Grey to his lips and was just about to take a sip, when he looked up at Holly's monitor again just in time to see her falling to the floor, dropping the apple that was in her hand. His heart stopped as he listened to her breathing but he soon realized that she had only fallen into a deep slumber, most likely brought on by the information that she had just learned.

He silently cursed himself for overacting but the thought of Holly, cold and lifeless, hung in his mind. What if something did happen to her when she was in that cell? What if he never got to tell her for himself…

His thoughts were interrupted by a hard knock on the door that announced Butler's arrival. Artemis did not even turn around as Butler entered, bringing with him a guilty and apologetic air.

"Butler, when did I give you permission to fraternize with the prisoner?" Artemis asked in a hushed, icy voice. He heard Butler shift uncomfortably before speaking in a voice much quieter than he usually would have used.

"I'm sorry sir, it won't happen again."

"The hell it won't." Artemis said, snapping around to face Butler with blazing eyes. "It _will_ happen again if the appropriate actions are not taken. I cannot trust you anymore not to spill my secrets to those who can use them against me. You have wronged me, Butler, and I will see to it that your punishment will fit your crime."

"Sir, I-" Butler started in his defense, but Artemis silenced him by holding up a thin, pale finger.

"I'm going to have to let you go, Butler; Juliet as well. You have one hour to get your belongings together and leave the Fowl premises forever, or as long as I am alive; which ever come first." There was a stunned silence as Artemis' fierce words rang throughout the room. Butler was visibly trying to comprehend what Artemis had said.

"You're-"

"Firing you, yes," Artemis said a small, humorless smile starting to form on his thin lips. "I never thought I'd see the day when my bodyguard would, unprovoked and willing, toss out my secrets to a prisoner, but obviously that day has come. Really Butler, what were you thinking?"

"Don't punish Juliet," Butler begged, showing once more that he cared about her wellbeing much more than his own. "She did nothing. She-"

"She still is related to you. I can no longer trust any of the Butlers." Artemis said, his voice as cold and hard as steel.

"Sir, this is a mistake."

"Butler! I do not make mistakes, I am a genius." Artemis said harsher than before, though wondering how far it would be wise to push Butler before he got physical.

"You need me." Butler said pointing an accusatory finger at Artemis, "Who will protect you?" Artemis' chuckle sent chills down Butler's spine. It was the maniac laugh of a madman.

"Very soon Butler, I will not need protecting. You will become an obsolete man. _The_ _obsolete man!" _He gave another chuckle of mad laughter. "One hour, Butler. Please inform Juliet. That will be all." Artemis turned back to his computer screen, not seeing it, listening to Butler. After a moment, during which Butler undoubtedly considering refusing his master, Butler turned to leave Artemis' room for the last time. But as he got there Butler felt he had to say one last thing.

"Master Artemis?"

"Yes, Butler?"

"Um…" Artemis visibly cringed at the non-word.

"I'm waiting, Butler."

"Please let the girl go." There was a silence in which Butler braced himself for Artemis' wrath. But what Artemis ended up saying surprised him.

"Don't worry Butler, I will; very soon." Artemis said quietly. Butler couldn't help but believe him at that point even if he sensed false pretenses. Butler nodded, closed the door, and didn't look back. It was only when the sound of Butler's steps had disappeared from the hallway did Artemis let out the breath he had been holding. He was very content, however, that Butler and Juliet didn't have to die now, and he immediately transferred what they would make in 55 years into each of their bank accounts. Their part was over; they didn't have to be in his nightmare anymore.

Artemis turned back to Holly's cell and studied Holly's serene sleeping profile. "Very soon Holly, my love, very soon." He whispered. And almost as though she could hear him, Holly smiled and spoke two words with the utmost adoration and love: "_Artemis Fowl"_.

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**Hmm...has Artemis gone insane or is this all part of a master plan? What do you think? Review Please! The purple button gets sad if it's not used! ;)**

**WS**


	4. Chapter VII

**Hey ya'll! Yeah so school's been getting better but it's still been really busy BUT I worked really hard to get this out to you guys as soon as I could cause ya'll are SO amazing reviewers! So thanks to everyone who's been reading/reviewing and here's chapter 7! (Sorry, not a double chapter, it was too long! But kinda short for a single chapter so next chapter will be a double chapter)!**

**Disclaimer: How mant times do I have to say, I don't own Artemis Fowl!**

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__VII_

Stakeout. Not particularly a favorite pastime of Foaly's, being more of a techie guy himself, yet in some chaotic situations, such as the present circumstances, he was forced to sit and watch. A small squad of just less than a hundred fairies, plus techies, had been assigned to the current Fowl incident. Though it was a relatively small bunch, no one below the rank of captain was present; only the best for Holly. They had received a note from Artemis about an hour ago informing them of his wants and requirements. They had sent him only a sentence in return_: Let Holly Short go._ Nothing more, nothing less. They had yet to receive a reply. The instructions they had received from the council were simple: wait for the remaining hours and then bio-bomb the place. If Artemis makes any move to peacefully release Holly, he will be brought in for a life sentence. If he, in any way, harms or attempts to harm Holly, give him the gold early, get Holly out, and then bio-bomb the place.

Trouble had almost kicked a wall out by that last one. He argued that if they just gave Fowl the gold to start with, Holly could get out safe without even being in harm's way. However, it was evident that the council cared more about fairy gold than Holly's life. They were too wary of Fowl escaping the bio-bomb as he had done with the time-stop to green light Trouble's plan. So there they were, sitting on the Fowl premises, waiting.

Foaly clip-clopped out of his portable lab, getting tired of just sitting, and found Trouble looking through some binoculars, never taking his eyes off the Fowl Manor's front door

"Trouble," Foaly acknowledged him as he sat down causing Trouble to jump and almost drop his binoculars.

"D'Arvit, Foaly!" Trouble swore, "Don't do that."

"Sorry sir," Foaly said barely concealing a smile, "Mind if I sit down?"

"Whatever," Trouble said going casual almost at once. They sat in silence for a long while until Trouble sighed deeply and, for once, took his gaze off the Manor. "She's right there, Foaly." He half whispered. "In that house, within shouting's distance. Why don't we just go in and get her so that this all can be over? Why don't we?"

"Because we would lose our jobs." Foaly said matter-of-factly.

"Since when do we care more about our employment that the safely of our own people?"

"Commander, this job, what would you do without it? If you go in there now and fail there would be nothing left for you. She wouldn't want you to do that. I don't think she wants help at all actually; it's the way she is." Trouble nodded knowing that he was right. If he lost Holly and his job in one day, he didn't know if he could take it. His job was his life; it was as simple as that. They both stared at the large house on the hill with wistful expressions.

"But she's a fighter, I'm sure she's fine." Trouble said as though he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Foaly. He could only imagine what that Fowl boy was doing to her. She was pretty messed up after last time he captured her, and they hadn't even been friends then. He couldn't conceive to amount of betrayal and hurt she was feeling right now. It had to be outweighing any physical torture that he was putting her though (if any). But what if he hurt her, if her really hurt her? He saw images in his mind's eye of Holly lying on the ground covered in blood, Holly's body broken and mangles, Holly's eyes closing, Holly dea-

"Trouble?" Foaly said, interrupting Trouble's troubled train of thought. Trouble gave a brief grunt in reply too disturbed by his thoughts to talk yet. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Ask away." Foaly took a deep breath knowing that the question would either condemn him or get him the answer he thought he was going to get.

"Do you…have feeling for Holly?" Trouble pondered the question for many minutes.

"I've known her since the Academy; of course I have feeling for her. She's always the one who I can count on no matter what. She reliable, independent, fiery, one of the only officers that actually gets her work done. Sometimes I feel like she is the only person below or above the earth that really gets me."

"I meant-"

"I know what you meant; if the real question you wanted to ask was whether or not I have _romantic_ feeling for Holly, your answer is a very tentative yes. She's always been there and it's always just seemed like the automatic thing; that she and I should get together, I mean. But she means more to me than that. If anything were to happen to her…" His voice broke but when he spoke next, his voice was stronger and fiercer than it had been. "If he so much as breaks one of her nails, he will have me to answer to." He vowed that his thoughts of Holly hurt would never come to be true.

"She loves him, you know." Foaly said quietly, daringly, against his better judgment. "We used to talk all the time when there was nothing else to do; every other word that came out of her mouth was his name. She told me she still cried at night because…" Foaly stopped because Trouble's head had snapped around and he looked like he was having a heart attack. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. He shut it and tried again but this time his response was cut off by a major yelling at him.

"Commander, we have a car, a black Rolls Royce, coming up the drive of the Fowl's, leaving the premises." Both the Commander and Foaly jumped up at once and saw, sure enough, a car was pulling out of the Fowl's front driveway, turning onto the road beyond.

"Stop that car!" Trouble cried into his headset. Four invisible fairies, at the same time, shot at the car's tires with their neutrinos causing the car to sink to the ground, coming to a slow halt.

"Driver identified as one, Domovoi Butler. Passenger identified as Juliet Butler. Fowl does not appear to be in the car." Came a voice through Trouble's headset. Trouble gave a groan of rage and frustration. As they watched, both Butler and Juliet got out of the car to investigate the cause of their stop. Both, Foaly noticed, looked irritated and upset.

"Move in on targets to capture but be extremely cautious about Butler; don't forget what he is capable of." None of his fairy troops moved, but instead looked around to see if anyone else was moving; no one wanted to be the first one to try and attack a Butler. Trouble gritted his teeth, rolled his eyes, and barked out a new order. "Fine! Neutrino's at level one. Aim for an arm or a leg. That should knock him out for at least the few seconds that we need to get him in cuffs. Remember he doesn't remember us, so _no_ striking up a conversation with him about the olden days!" He added the last part as more of a joke than anything, but he wouldn't put it past some of his dimmer officers to do something stupid like that. He could almost hear every officer aim and shoot, and a half a second later, Butler and Juliet were both on the ground and in the process of being cuffed.

"Good work men." Trouble said, trying not to think of what Holly would say to the questionable sexism of his comment. He fired up his wings and quickly flew down to where Butler was being carried (by at least ten fairies) into an empty portable lab. He was quickly cuffed to one of the metal lab desks at once as he was beginning to stir. Butler opened his eyes just as Foaly entered the room, out of breath.

"Who are you?" was the first thing that Butler growled. Trouble had almost forgotten how terrifying Butler was when he _wasn't_ on their side.

"Domovoi Butler," Trouble said in a non-menacing voice, holding his palms out in a gesture of peace. "I am Trouble Kelp, Commander of the LEPrecon, an elite branch of the city of Haven's police force."

"Kelp…Kelp… why does that sound familiar? Do I know you from somewhere? And if I do know you from somewhere, what are you doing with me?" Butler said his brow furrowed as he tried to remember.

"You knew us, once upon a time. You worked with us, helped us, and even befriended us near the end. You remember none of this because you were mindwiped by your employer, Artemis Fowl."

Butler's eyes snapped open the second they said Artemis' name. It was the only thing important in that whole sentence of gibberish. His eyes narrow suspiciously. "You know Artemis? How?" Trouble's eyes grew dark as he shot the Manor, bathed in the dusk's gentle glow, an icy glance.

"Yes, Butler," Trouble replies darkly, "We _knew_ Artemis. He _helped_ us too." Trouble put a little too much emphasis on the past tense of his words.

"You're here for the girl in the cell, aren't you? You aren't human either. What are you?"

"Yes, Butler, we are here for the girl. We are fairies. I'm an elf to be more specific, and so is Holly, the girl in the cell. We live underground to get away from the humans who persecuted us when we still lived on top of the earth, which is why you didn't know we existed before Artemis found out about us. Artemis kidnapped the same fairy which is now locked up though, through a number of incidents where both of you helped us, we became friends, especially Artemis and Holly."

"If you're a fairy, what the hell is that?" Butler asked pointing at Foaly who was now holding something that resembled swimming goggles.

"I," said Foaly looking very offended and interrupting whatever Trouble was about to say, "Am a centaur. I am the only reason that Mudmen like you haven't found Haven! I've invented every single piece of our superior technology that you see in front of you and I have beaten Opal Koboi, multiple times, may I add. I-"

"That's Foaly," Trouble said loudly, interrupting Foaly's rant. "You worked with him too. He's our technical genius." Trouble stopped it at that so as to not inflate Foaly's already huge head.

"Why don't I remember any of you? It doesn't seem like something I'd forget very quickly."

"We already told you!" Trouble snapped impatiently, "Artemis mind-wiped you"

"Used magic to make you forget about us." Foaly clarified as Butler gave a confused groan.

"Magic?" Butler said, his eyes going from disbelief to narrow suspicion.

"Yes magic." Trouble said swiping his hand across one of Butler's many scars, causing blue sparks to dance across Butler's arm. When the sparks were gone, Butler looked, and the scar had disappeared as well. Butler stared at his arm in shock and then closely inspected the pace where the scar had been.

"I've got to get me some of that." Butler said finally, still in a state of shock.

"Yes, it is pretty cool," Trouble agreed, really smiling for the first time since this whole incident started.

"So if I forgot all you little people," Butler said getting back on topic, "What use am I to you now? Artemis fired me so I can't get you any information."

"We still need any information about what happened leading up to your mindwipe. So we need you to remember." Trouble explained.

"That's what these are for," Foaly said holding up two goggle-like looking objects for both of them to see. "Obviously we can't take the time to instigate a totally recall, though I do wonder why you haven't had one already, so we'll have to use these babies to help us. They basically do the same thing as recall but sometimes aren't as accurate…I think."

"You think?" Butler asked, eyeing the objects warily.

"Why two pairs?" Trouble interrupted.

"One pair is for block mind wipes and the other is for fine tune mind wipes. A few elementary tests will show me which one that Artemis used."

"We don't need a test." Trouble contradicted. Foaly looked surprised but motioned for Trouble to continue. "It's Artemis Fowl we're talking about, not some random fairy off the street. He wouldn't want to drop the IQ of his bodyguard, or even risk it for that matter. What if he needed Butler to remember something? No, Artemis did a fine tune mindwipe; I'm sure of it."

"I hope you're right." Foaly said, absentmindedly going to fit the goggles over Butler's eyes. He didn't notice Butler's eyes widening as though he wished that his arms were free so that he could throttle Foaly for touching him. "Because theses…haven't really been tested in a lab so I have no idea what happens if you're wrong. Though, I would be very curious as to the outcome." Butler's eyes widened almost out of their sockets this time but Foaly had already hooked some wires up to his computer and pressed the button on the sides of the goggles, causing Butler's eyes to roll back. Foaly cackled. "Now I really hope that it works, because if it doesn't, he's going to kill me for this. Ok, this should only take a few seconds and then, if Frond willing, we will have total recall."

So they waited; 30 seconds, a minute, and minute and a half, still nothing. And then…Butler let out a gasp that could have only been horror causing everyone in the vicinity to jump a foot in the air after the dead silence. Trouble motioned for the cuffs to quickly be taken off of him along with the goggles. For the first time, they stared into the eyes of the real Domovoi Butler. There was no doubt that the recall had been affective. It was most evident in his eyes. They held a sudden understanding with a touch of sadness in their black depths.

"He didn't…." Butler nearly growled. They all knew what he was talking about.

"He did." Trouble nodded gravely.

"I'll kill him." Butler said his eyes glinting as he cracked his knuckles menacingly.

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**Sorry there was no Arty in this chapter! Pleanty of him in the next one! But please review, it encourages me to update faster! You guys are uh-may-zing!**

**WS**


	5. Chapters VII & IX

**Hey guys! I totally love tying this story so I actually had a pretty quick update for once! The story is getting a little more A/H than I had originally inteneded but who doesn't love A/H, right? Thanks for all who have been reviewing! I honestly thought that no one would like this story so thanks for proving me wrong! You guys are amazing! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl!**

_You hold me without touch/  
You keep me without chains/  
I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love and not feel your rain..._

_You loved me 'cause I'm fragile/  
When I thought that I was strong/  
But you touch me for a little while and all my fragile strength is gone. -Gravity by Sara Bareilles_

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__VIII_

Holly was awakened by a gentle shake. She blearily opened her eyes, blinked a few times, and then stretched like a cat, trying to clear her head of the terrible nightmare she had been having. In it, Artemis had kidnapped her and taken her hostage for Frond knew what reasons. It has been horrifying but at the same time it had been tolerable because she discovered that Artemis had feelings for her and that…had been worth all the pain. She shivered reassuring herself that it really was a dream, but it had just felt so real. She opened her eyes, expecting to see the ivory ceiling of her apartment but instead she saw…

"Artemis!" She said happily but wondering deeply what he was doing here in Haven. He would have told her that he was coming to visit unless…Holly looked despondently around at the four cell walls around her and then looked into Artemis' eyes that were not quite his. It _had_ been a nightmare, the worst possible kind; the kind that you don't wake up from.

"What do you want?" She spat, jerking up so fast that her head began to spin. She blinked several times before Artemis' face came back into a full, clear focus.

"I have merely come to offer you some more comfortable accommodations for the remainder of your stay." Artemis said these words in a truly sick manor, as if he were simply offering a room upgrade at a hotel. Holly scowled but at the same time, felt the tiniest bit of joy in seeing him. If only she could reach out to him. She would if she could but something inside of her, she wasn't quite sure what, stopped her. Maybe it was the fact that he was holding her hostage against her will that did it.

"And if I refuse these 'more comfortable accommodations'?" Holly challenged. Artemis raised a thin eyebrow and his vampire smile widened until Holly could see every single one of his pearly white teeth.

"Then I shall have to force you to accept them." Artemis replied lazily. "But really, Holly, wouldn't you much rather prefer a room upstairs. It is so drafty and damp in here. Surely you would be much more comfortable somewhere else."

"Yes, it is rather damp and drafty in here, that's because it's a cell in which you are holding me against my will!" Holly snarled causing Artemis to count to ten multiple times in order to keep control. "You'd have to do much more than call Butler in here to drag me to get me into one of your 'rooms upstairs'." Holly continued but was taken aback and mystified by the sudden expression of guilt and sorrow in Artemis' eyes.

"Butler is no longer with us." Artemis said simply, not looking her in the eye. Holly had sudden visions of Artemis stabbing an unsuspecting Butler in the back with a kitchen knife causing Butler to slip to the ground and die in a pool of his own blood. She gasped; she hadn't thought of Artemis as ever being able to kill his most beloved friend.

"You mean-"

"I fired him." Artemis clarified, sensing rather than seeing Holly's accusation. Holly couldn't help but sighing in relief. "There are certain things that a good bodyguard should know not to do, and telling his master's secrets to hostages is one of them. The confidentiality between and bodyguard and his charge is sacred and Butler completely snapped that bond in half. Juliet too, I can't trust them anymore." Artemis' voice trailed off into nothingness and Holly felt herself, for a single second, feeling sorry for Artemis. It was during that moment, when Artemis' guard was down, that she saw the smallest glimmer of the old Artemis in his eyes; always his eyes. "Please come, Holly." Artemis said almost gently, "I promise you that this isn't _being broken down or giving up_. This will all be _over for you_soon, just come with me." Holly believed him. For some ridiculous, unfathomable reason that even she didn't understand, she believed this deceiving, corrupt, kidnapping, mudman who was offering his hand for her to take, and she took it without thinking twice. True, she let go the second she was on her feet, but she still took his hand. Artemis smiled a smile that was, for once, not vampirish; it was the normal smile of a devious genius.

"What if I try and escape?" Holly asked as he made her walk in front of him out of the cell. She knew that she wouldn't escape, however. She _couldn't,_ having only limited strength and zero magic. Artemis sighed, thinking the exact same thing that she was.

"Let's not speak of such unpleasanties. But, just to satisfy your curiosity, I will let you know that I have become as skilled in both weaponry and martial arts as either one of the Butlers. With your magic as low as it is now, it will not be hard to take you out if you try anything."

"You'd hurt me?" Holly asked quietly, suddenly feeling very small. She didn't turn around to see Artemis ponder the question, not wanting to take away his luxury of being able to say something that his expression contradicted. They took a flight of stairs, two lefts, and a right before Artemis answered.

"I will do what _has to be done_." Artemis said slowly, as if he were choosing his words very carefully. Artemis slipped past Holly in the hallway then halted so suddenly that Holly promptly ran into him. "Forgive me captain; I should have warned you of my stop. This is it." He pulled the door open but not before Holly had seen the plaque on the door that read, in some kind of gold plate: Artemis Fowl II, Gold is Power.

"Is this your room?" Holly asked, not stepping in after Artemis farther than the threshold

"Yes." Artemis replied, turning on a light so that the plain room was illuminated from multiple light bulbs. Holly didn't move.

"I'm staying _here_? Where are you sleeping?"

"_I don't need to sleep tonight." _

"I'm not staying here." Holly told him stubbornly. There was no way that she was going to sleep in the same room that Artemis planned her capture in; her first and second capture.

"_Yes_, you are." Artemis said more forceful that Holly. His eyes were blazing and boring into hers but she did not break the hate filled gaze. If looks could kill, it would be impossible to tell who would be dead first.

"No, I'm not." Holly repeated in a voice just above a whisper, her voice dripping with venom. Artemis' blow struck her, open handed, even before she comprehended that he had lifted his hand. Holly cried out and clutched at her cheek where he had struck, unable to believe what he had just done. Tears leaked from her eyes though she knew that they were not due to the physical pain that he had just inflicted on her. He had hurt her _soul_. She watched, through her tears, as Artemis' face turned from disbelief of his actions, to pain, to a complete and utter sadness that looked as though it would spill out of his being any second.

"Holly, I-" Holly just looked at him unblinkingly with her mouth slightly open, shaking her head the tiniest bit from side to side. She didn't want to hear it. She didn't think she _could_ hear any excuse that he could ever give to her for his actions. Everything he had put her through up until now, she was willing to forget if it was for a good enough reason, but this was…unforgiveable. The second worst possible thing he could do to her right now was apologize. Artemis did her the favor of not trying to apologize but instead, he did the very worst possible thing he could do to her at that moment. He grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him, roughly bringing their lips together. Holly's eyes widened and she grabbed his shoulders to push him away, but the moment his lips touched hers, her will dissolved and with it, the desire to get as far away from Artemis as humanly possible. Instead of shoving him away as was her intended action, she clung to him as though he was a life preserver in a vicious sea. His lips moved steadily, passionately against hers, causing her to shudder when he broke the kiss for a single second, breathing her name. She felt his arms move down her back, pushing them closer together, as their lips met again. Her hands slowly twisted in his midnight black hair. She couldn't think, let alone comprehend a logical reason for either of their actions. They should be fighting right now, not this; definitely not this. They broke apart for a second time and Artemis held her face in his hands, looking into her mismatched eyes, and at that point she knew; they both knew. They both knew how this was going to end. They both knew that one way or another, they would be parted forever. But also, for that one moment, Holly saw Artemis how she remembered him; compassionate, valiant, and intelligent. All of the things that the old Artemis wasn't, Artemis was during the moment that he held her. And for a moment, she could pretend that nothing had happened, that it all _really had just been_ _a nightmare._

Artemis' hands fell suddenly to his sides as the blaze in his eyes was extinguished. They looked at each other for a single moment, trying to comprehend what just happened then Holly opened her mouth to speak but Artemis interrupted her. "Excuse me." He said, pushing past her, he forcing her in the room, and then closing the door behind him. Holly heard the door lock with a clean snick but she tried it anyway. It didn't budge. She could hear past the door, Artemis half running down the hall. She felt and overwhelming desire to crawl into a hole somewhere and never coming out. Why had he kissed her, but more importantly, why hadn't she stopped him? What did this mean? Holly held her stomach with both arms as though, if she let go, all of her emotions would come flooding out and drown her.

To distract herself, Holly inspected his room. It looked like him, plain and very modern. But more notably, it smelled like him. His scent, Earl Grey, ink, and something that might have been peppermint, hung in the air like an intoxicating gas. The pure _seductiveness_ of it almost made Holly want to scream. But, she remembered, his _taste_ was twice as good as his scent. He tasted like something that Holly could only describe as passion. Yes, if passion had a taste, it would have been that of Artemis Fowl's lips. Holly felt that passion, not love, completely described her feelings for Artemis. Passion went two ways, the passion of love and the passion of hate. Holly felt both for Artemis with neither one outweighing the other.

Holly jumped as the noise of the air conditioning turning on filled the small room. She shivered, only beginning to realize how cold she was in just her shorts and tank top. She walked, slowly, tentatively over to his closet and opened it. It was mostly white collared shirts, jackets, pants, and lines of loafers that were lined up perfectly straight on the floor. Holly touched one of the white shirts and quickly jerked back as though she had gotten electrocuted. Frond, it even felt like him. Holly, braver this time, grasped the shirt in both hands and yanked it off the hanger. It slipped easily over her head, going down to the middle of her thigh. It was way too big and she was forced to roll up the sleeves many times, but it was warm; warmer to her than it should have been. With trembling fingers, she undid the top few buttons so she could breathe more easily. She caught a sight of herself in Artemis' mirror. Her eyes were red from crying, her hair was messed up, and she had the look of a thinned, fragile person who had lost all hope. But there was just something about Artemis' shirt that made her feel right, made her feel safe.

Shaking her head, Holly went to look out the only window in the room. It faced the gates and even if she wanted to break it, she couldn't because of the inch thick glass that separated her from the outside world. She looked across the lawn, watching how the soft breeze bent the grass in ripples, like waves. Her eyes were drawn to just outside the gate, where there seemed to be a large mass of barely visible heat waves. A normal person (or fairy for that matter) would have seen nothing but a trained LEP officer saw it for what it really was, even with the Shimmer Suits: a giant group of shielded fairies. Instead of smiling because her friends were here to rescue her, Holly felt like crying. They were here and they were prepared to do anything it took to get her out of the Manor without any loss of fairy gold. Anything, including kill Artemis Fowl.

_IX_

Commander Trouble Kelp was sitting at a small table in one of the portable labs with a cup of tea in front of him. Butler sat in front of him like a statue, unmoving, and distant. Foaly was standing somewhere at the very edge of Trouble's peripheral vision, shifting from hoof to hoof. It was time for the truth to be known

"When did this start exactly?" Trouble asked Butler. "When did Artemis change from the man he was into…this?" Butler took his time thinking over the question and choosing his words carefully. This was hard for him as he felt a certain protection over his master's secrets in this case, but he knew that he had to help the LEP. It may be the only way to save Holly. But there was still that part of him that felt guilty for betraying Artemis.

"It didn't really start at once; it was a slow change, very little at a time. He became distant with everyone, his family, the few friends he had, even me. The big shock didn't come until Fowl Enterprises went bankrupt. His father knew that Artemis had a massive amount of gold stashed somewhere and Artemis Sr. asked Artemis if he could have some to get his business running again and make the next house payment. We all expected Artemis to agree but…he didn't. He told his father flat out no, and in a few days, he had kicked both his parents and siblings out on the street. We, Juliet and I, were appalled. We had never known Artemis to be so heartless, even in the days before fairies. There were days when we both talked privately about quitting, but I couldn't abandon him. And then Artemis started spending massive amounts of gold. Squandering it on pointless items such as, plasma screen TVs, gym equipment, cars, boats, thing he didn't need and he rarely took out of the box. Little by little, almost as though he wanted it that way, he began to run out of gold. He became increasingly obsessed with finding more. And then, it stopped…"

"It stopped?"

"Yes, it stopped. He would lock himself in his room for weeks at a time, ordering that his meals should be brought to his room and any messages for him would not be given. He usually wouldn't even acknowledge if we knocked on his door. And then, there was the screaming. At night he screamed as though he was being stabbed. The first couple nights, I ran into his room to see what was wrong, but after I woke him up, he reprimanded me for it. So I just let him be. Sometime he would yell her name." They all knew who the 'her' was. "And then after three weeks of that, he became active again. He acted as though nothing happened, other than the fact that he talked even more about plans to acquire more gold. Two weeks ago he said, very quietly as if he were scared of his words, 'What if we just did it like last time?'" Butler shuddered at the memory. "I told him he was too obsessed with gold but that seemed to only encourage him further. I said that Juliet and I would quit and go tell the LEP about his plan and I suspect that was about the time when he mind wiped me and Juliet." Butler stopped and with almost hesitancy about him, said, "I didn't know what to think. I thought I really knew Artemis but what he did…I didn't put two and two together. I could have stopped this!" Butler sounded more lost than Trouble had ever heard him and it worried him that the more stoic player in the game was breaking down.

"You can't blame yourself." Trouble assured him forcefully. "No one would have ever guessed that Artemis would do something like this, especially to Holly."

"It could have been anything." Foaly put in, patting the giant's massive forearm.

"You do know what has to be done, don't you?" Trouble said quietly not looking Butler in the face. "If what Butler says is true, Artemis will stop at nothing to acquire fairy gold. He is a threat to the entire fairy community. We are going to have to end this one way or another. We have a little less than four hours to get Holly out of there before we bio-bomb the place. But I don't think Artemis is going to get off the hook that easily." Butler shuddered but nodded, looking resigned.

"I gathered as much." Was his only gruff reply.

"Please Butler, you need to get you away from here. We'll call you when this is…all over."

"I'm staying." Butler almost growled. "I have to." Trouble nodded even though he thought it a bad idea. But who was going to argue with a man of Butler's size. Trouble stared into his empty tea cup thinking about what they could be doing to help Holly if they had the council's ok. His fingers crushed around his cup, causing it to shatter in his hand. He muttered darkly and swept the shard up into a neat pile on the table with his hand.

"Tell me, Butler." Trouble said. "How does Artemis feel about Holly? If they really were as good of friends as we all thought, why is he doing this to her?" Butler looked startled at the abrupt question but his answer came quick.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Artemis loves Holly more than his next breath but there is a darkness about his love that no one quite understands. His pretenses are rarely made clear. He wants her more than he wants any gold in the world and I think…she feels the same way."

"Have they-" Trouble started but was interrupted by one of Foaly's techie assistants running into the portable lab, breathless.

"A message for the Commander." The technical subordinate huffed.

"Go on." Trouble said, hoping for good news but not expecting it.

"The council had sent a message to Artemis Fowl."

"What?" Trouble exploded. "Why was this message not approved by me? What was the contents and nature of this message?"

"I don't know exactly, sir, but something like they are challenging Artemis Fowl because they believe that he will not follow through on his threats to hurt Holly. They told him that he won't get his fairy gold and that they are going to bio-bomb his home."

"What? They _challenged_ him? Holly is as good as dead! Who sent the letter?"

"Commander Chaplin." The messenger said looking nervous. Swearing under his breath, Trouble grabbed his communicator and punched in Commander Chaplin's number.

"Chaplin!" Trouble barked the second that the image of the Commander came up on the screen. A small balding elf who constantly dined on vole curry, Chaplin was one of the oldest council members and, with age, came a confidence that he could do no wrong.

"Oh, Commander Kelp." Chaplin said conversationally. "How's the weather up there in Ireland?"

"What the hell did you tell that mudman?"

"Oh that," Chaplin replied, waving a hand as if to swat away the problem. "I merely told his that he should not think us as gullible just because we are not human and that he should not test us. He won't hurt Holly, and we won't give him the gold. In the end, we win. He will be forced to surrender because of the lack of actions behind his promises."

"What makes you so confident that he _won't_ hurt Holly?" Trouble challenged. Chaplin scratched his chin, taking time to think.

"I don't think that he _won't_. But the fact is that if he does, he will not have the heart to do much more than a few bruises. As long as we don't lose fairy gold, it's a sacrifice she will have to make"

"What?" Trouble yelled aghast. "As long as it's not too much, it's fine? He could be pushing Holly to the breaking point and all you care about is fairy gold! You don't know him like I do! He's not some weak hearted little boy! He will hurt he, kill her if he has to! We cannot sacrifice Holly just for some gold! If we give him the gold and then you bio-bomb the place you will just get it back."

"What happened last time though? He lived and kept it! We can't risk it!" Chaplin argued.

"You don't care if we lose one of our best officers?"

"As long as no fairy gold is lost, that pretty much sums it up. I have a community to take care of Kelp, not just the interest of one officer. What if there is a crisis and we need that gold? Are you willing to sacrifice one life in exchange for saving many? I'm thinking towards the future and what could happen." Trouble made a noise that sounded like he was trying to howl and swear at the same time.

"You don't challenge Artemis Fowl and expect everything to get resolved cleanly." Butler said quietly from the table. "He will hurt Holly as much as he can just to prove that he can. It's his nature and the only way to prevent it is giving Artemis the gold."

"Who's that?" Chaplin demanded to know.

"It isn't important who it is." Trouble said through gritted teeth. "We are getting Holly out of there and I would like to remind you that your job is to protect the People, all the People not just their gold that they might need in the future."

"And I would like to remind you." Chaplin said puffing out his bulbous chest, "That you are in no position to make drastic strategic decisions, you are just there to oversee and that's it! And I would also like to remind you that I have the power to fire you and ensure that you never get another job again if you go against what I say. As for Holly Short, if she dies, she will have died in honor; a casualty of war. Don't give Fowl the gold. Now, you are going to bio-bomb this place in four hours, with or without Holly in it. Do I make myself clear?" Without even waiting for an answer, Chaplin terminated the link. There was dead silence and then Trouble hurled his communicator at the wall with a yell, causing it to break into a hundred different pieces. A stream of profanities erupted from his mouth. Butler and Foaly stared at the Commander with pity in their eyes. His job, Holly's life, and Artemis life were all in his hands, not to mention a large chunk of fairy gold. And it was all his decision on how the story would play out. He sank into his chair once more, letting his head fall into his hands, muttering to himself, "What and I going to do? _What_ am I going to do?"

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**There it is! Any predictions on what will happen? There are only a couple more chapters left I am sorry to say (i think 3) so please review! **

**WS**


	6. Chapter X

**Hey guys! I'm sorry about the months I've been MIA and that's it's taken me so long to update WT. This was for two reasons. The first is that I've had some pretty bad stuff happening on my end. The second reason is that I had to write three drafts of this chapter before I was satisfied. This was one of the hardest chapters I've ever written. Partly cause there is a torture scence in it (this is your warning for any people who can't handle stuff like that). I wrote a very graphic draft, one with very little gore at all, and then one that was kind of middle-ground. I decided to go with the middle-one. I'll try to get better at updating, I promise. You guys are so amazing for reading this and reviewing! So without further ado, I present the tenth chapter of Within Temptation. Thanks for reading. -WS**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl. (Nor do I own those couple lines in italics in the middle that are from the Arctic Incident. Only the amazing Mr. Colfer could have written those wonderful lines.)**

**PS. Sorry for the semi-evil cliffie ;)**

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_X_

Artemis sat at his computer; fuming. They were challenging him, in an e-mail no less. They _dared_ to challenge _him _and expect him to do nothing? Did they not know that they were needling, _prodding_ at his competitive spirit and pride? Did they not know that they were forcing him to consider actions that he never thought he would ever consider? Artemis knew that the e-mail was not the masterpiece of Foaly nor was it that of the Commander, who both knew him well enough to know not to test him; this was the work of one of the higher ups, which made the challenge all the more tempting. Would he do anything, include hurt the one he cared about, to take a bite of this particular apple?

Artemis swore under his breath. If he wanted that gold, he was going to have to hurt Holly to prove his point and force the LEP to give it to him. He wouldn't kill her, of course, but how far was he willing to go just for gold? He couldn't risk her; she was far too precious to him to be forced into that kind of danger. But he had to stick with the plan; it was the last plan he would ever make, and he had to do it right. If this didn't work, it would all be lost for him. Yet what if, for some inexplicable reason, they didn't care if he killed Holly or not, would he be forced to kill her out of his own pride?

Artemis suddenly found himself beginning to formulate a plan, more complicated and risky than any he had ever thought up in the past. It would involve hurting Holly, but more than that, it would hurt her soul, spirit, and, if she lived, her worth to the LEP. _If it is evident that one is going to die_, Artemis thought, _what use is it to you to save them? But if they were going to live and be returned but be injured in a way that prevented them assisting you…what would I do if I were an arrogant chairman of the LEP who cared not about someone's life, but about their use to me? _

His eyes snapped open while he smiled grimly. He knew what he had to do. He got up from his specially made computer chair, and then walked slowly across his room. Opening and shutting the door without a sound, he crept along the black carpet that newly lined the entire manor; the black caused no shadows to follow him. Everyone knows that shadows can betray you much more than any mortal man.

Artemis felt as though he were a child again, sneaking into the kitchen to get a cookie from the jar when his mother wasn't looking. But this time, it was much more than just a cookie, and when he stopped, his was not standing in front of his kitchen door. He opened the door to one of the many rooms that held the various items he had bought as a result of his splurge; things that he never used. Turning on the light, he searched through the many cardboard boxes before he found what he was looking for. He pulled from the box a thick leather bag. Inside the bag was a weighty knife.

It was a perfectly balanced, slightly serrated combat knife. The titanium tip caught the light as Artemis smoothly lifted it out of its sheath, into the open. The handle was so jet black, that when Artemis moved his fingertips slightly, his fingerprints were visible for the briefest second. This was not only the best knife in the world, but made for perfection. Say you wanted to cut off someone's fingers for example….

Artemis recalled on passage of The Book that was the key to his plan. It was some sort of a disclaimer on healing magic. It stated (in much more of an iambic pentameter) that if a serious injury went too long without healing, that it could be impossible to heal at all. He also remembered what Commander Root had said all those years ago when Holly's finger had been sliced off by the door of that train; when she hadn't had enough magic to heal herself. _"Nothing serious? She lost her trigger finger! The door cut it clean off! Her career is over." _

Artemis reasoned with himself that the LEP was almost positive that he would not kill Holly; hence they would get her back and, after some time off, she would go back to work. She was, after all, their best officer. However, without a properly working trigger finger (or any at all for that matter), she would be useless to the LEP, which is all the higher ups cared about. Of course, Holly could use Mech Digits, but Holly herself had told Artemis that they were nothing compared the real thing.

The LEP would have a large dilemma on their hands, to lose gold or their best officer. That was where the live video feed would come in. He had already hacked into their temporary headquarters right outside of his front gate, and using live video feed, he would force them to watch the torture take place themselves. The would be forced to watch Holly's face as she was tormented, knowing that the one thing she lived for, her job, was being taken from her each time the knife caught the light. If anyone at the LEP had a heart and was watching Holly go through that, the choice would be easy. If not, the plan could fail.

Artemis left the tiny, box filled room, and made his way slowly back to his own office. He knew that he could not bring himself to hurt Holly in such a way that she would never heal, so he had to improvise. Reaching into the top drawer of his mahogany dresser, Artemis rummaged through the many items before he pulled out a tiny acorn. It was the one that Holly was about to use to complete the Ritual right before he had captured her for the second time. He had kept it as a kind of memento, not knowing that it actually could come in handy. He pocketed the acorn and stepped back from his dresser, breathing heavily.

Did he really want to do this? Was it really necessary? There were so many risks, so many things that could go wrong, so many ways he could hurt Holly. Artemis hands shook as he patted the acorn again for assurance. He felt as though he had just run a three mile race. His head was pounding, his eyes were going in and out of focus, and his face was hot and covered with an icy sweat. Nothing he had ever achieved could have prepared him for what he was about to do.

Artemis composed himself by closing his eyes and silently counting to ten as Butler had taught him, though when he opened his eyes, he didn't feel any calmer. He left his office hurriedly to beat the familiar trail to his room. He stopped just outside the heavy wooden door to put an ear to it. All Artemis could hear was Holly's breathing. It sounded just how his had a few seconds ago; desperate and disturbed. She was not sleeping and that fact complicated things; he would have to face her. It was almost ironic to him how facing Holly at this particular moment seemed much harder than fighting off one hundred trolls.

Artemis knocked on the door and waited politely for the reply he knew would not come. After a minute, Artemis took they key out of his pocket and, once he had turned it in the keyhole, he opened the door slowly into his familiar room. Holly was sitting with her knees up to her chest on a small, straight backed chair. Artemis was startled to see that she was wearing one of his white button up shirts that she had evidently taken from his closet; an interesting choice on her part. She was staring at him with her blue and hazel eyes with the utmost passion.

_Though passion, _Artemis reminded himself, _went both ways_.

"Hello Holly." Artemis said politely smiling and striding over to where she sat. She didn't say anything but just kept looking at him. "How are you?" Artemis continued as he would have in any other circumstance.

"They're out there." Holly said in cracked voice, "They're out there, just beyond your gate. They're waiting for you, Fowl; they're waiting to kill you. Just give me up and let this all be over." Holly's eyes were wild and desperate for him to understand. Artemis faltered just for a second but then he was his usual collected self.

"I am aware of this." Artemis told her shortly. "They have already contacted me in an attempt to negotiate your release. I use the term negotiate lightly as they more or less told me I was going to let you go. They seem to care more about losing fairy gold than your life." He chose his words carefully, playing on her weaknesses. Much to his dismay, the tactic was effective, making Holly's face more anguished than it had been before. Artemis felt a tug on his heart but trudged on in his façade. It was a cruel thing to break Holly down in this way, emotionally and mentally, even before he broke her down physically.

To hide his expression, Artemis walked over to webcam that was attached to his laptop. He positioned it so that it was pointing directly at the table Holly was sitting at. It was lucky for him that she was sitting at that specific table which had been specially made for him, just in case. It had a number of useful abilities that far exceeded that of a normal table. He had special ordered it from Japan.

Artemis adjusted the mike sensitivity so that it was the highest it could possibly go and then opened a link to the LEP's temporary headquarters. He could see every officer who was in the room clearly, though they could not see him. He caught a glimpse of Trouble talking heatedly into his communicator while Butler and Foaly watched, before he turned off the screen of his computer so Holly could not see. Artemis turned back to her and she appeared not to have noticed what he was doing; too upset.

"Holly," he said walking back to the table and sitting the chair opposite Holly, "You are worth so much more than gold, so that is why I'm going to help you." Holly's head snapped up as she stared at him, looking confused. "Holly, I've been meaning to tell you something for a long time." Holly's eyes narrowed suspiciously but she did not say anything. Artemis' hand roamed under the table until he found a small button just near the edge on the right side. Here came the tricky part; still trying to look natural, Artemis brought his knee up, just below the button so his hands could be free.

"Holly, I," He took Holly's hands in his to hide the fact that he was positioning them exactly where he needed them to be, right in the center of two miniscule black dots that served as guides, "Want you not to scream." He finished dramatically, jutting his knee up, pushing the button hard, causing four flawless, metal cuffs to pop up from the table. Half of the cuff appeared on each side of Holly's thin arms and met the other half in the middle, causing two air tight cuffs to restrain her at her wrists and two identical ones to pin her down just below the elbows. Holly's eyes widened and her hands tightened around Artemis' as she tried to pull back from the table.

"What are you doing?" Holly shrieked at him. Artemis didn't answer her but instead pulled out a roll of duct tape from his dresser and began restrain her legs so she couldn't kick. After he was done with that, Artemis walking back to his computer and turned back on the screen. He activated the link to where the Commander was. Trouble was slumped at his table looking forlornly at a pile of what used to be a tea cup. Artemis cleared his throat and Trouble jumped, turning around. His eyes widened as he shot up out of his chair.

"Hello Commander," Artemis said conversationally. "We meet again. I use the term 'meet' loosely for you can see and hear me but I can only see you. Nothing you say I will hear, so please stop yelling." Trouble's mouth closed quickly as he looked slightly abashed. Artemis moved out of the way so that Trouble had a clear view of Holly. Not looking at Trouble's disbelieving expression, Artemis continued. "You have made the mistake of challenging me and my wit. You have demanded that I submit to you wishes and receive nothing in return. You really shouldn't have done that. You should know that I never back down from a challenge, no matter what it might be. I need that gold, you see. I need it more than _almost_ anything. And you telling me that I can't have it only encourages me further to get it. So let this be an example to those who dare to test me. _There is nothing I won't do anymore._" He turned back to Holly who was staring at him with at look of utter abhorrence on her face.

"I'm sorry, my love. I truly am." He whispered to her, so quietly that the cameras could not pick it up.

"I'm not your anything." Holly snarled at him with all the contempt she could muster. "I hate you." Artemis grabbed the knife off of the floor where he had stored it and pulled it swiftly out of the leather. It looked so harmless in the half-light. But Artemis knew all too well that look can be deceiving. Presently, Holly had given up the will to fight, slumping back in her chair, unable to move. It was almost as though she wanted to be as still as possible and _let_ him hurt her.

"That's ok too darling, that's ok too." Artemis said not taking his eyes off the knife.

"Now Holly," Artemis said loud enough for the mikes to pick up, straightening up, "What is the most valuable part of an LEP officer, excluding their brain? What does every officer need to succeed in the LEPrecon?" Holly didn't answer but stared stubbornly at the table, tears glistening in her eyes. Artemis glanced at the screen where Trouble (and the rest of the people in the room) was standing stock-still and open mouthed at the monitor. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but that would be their trigger finger, wouldn't it? A good officer cannot function without being able to aim and shoot at a second's notice."

"Now Holly, you're out of magic, are you not? If we remember The Book's disclaimer on healing magic, is it not true that if something too terrible ever happened to you, and if it is not healed right away, it could never be healed? Say a severed finger for instance. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you lose a finger when we were in the Arctic? Didn't Root," Artemis saw her flinch, "say that if the healing didn't work that your career at the LEP would be over?" He left it at that, leaving the rest for them to imagine. Artemis was letting his plan be known and he could see it on Trouble's horrified face. Artemis smiled then rested the blade of the knife on Holly's index finger of the left hand. He would start with the left hand to give them time to think, however, if they still refused he would be forced to threaten her trigger finger. Holly gasped at the blade's touch, though Artemis suspected that it was more out of surprise than pain. Her intake of breath was loud enough to be picked up by the mike and it caused Trouble's face to pale.

"But wait," Artemis said, continuing his tirade, "You can stop this Commander; you can stop this with one word. All you have to do is give me the gold and you shall have Holly back to you, safe and sound. This," he pointed towards the knife "Is just the first round. If you refuse to give me my gold, I shall be forced to go into round two. So what do you say, sir? I'm giving you the chance now. A nod or shake of the head will suffice." Artemis smiled and watched the turmoil in Trouble's face.

"Trouble, don't!" Holly yelled, speaking for the first time directly to Trouble.

"Quiet, Holly." Artemis instructed her though not unkindly; it was more of a warning. Holly's face was aghast when Trouble closed his eyes and didn't say anything or move. Artemis could see that the higher ups were called and all on screens behind him, probably all yelling different things, threatening his job, his home, his life. Artemis felt a fleeting stab of pity for the guy.

"No? Very well, I do hope gold is worth giving up your best officer's finger." Artemis said raising an eyebrow. He realized suddenly that he was beginning to sweat. They were supposed to take the bait the first time around. Artemis looked away from the screen and back to Holly. He tried to portray in his eyes exactly how sorry he was but Holly would only gape at him with hurt and malice in hers.

Artemis gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and brought the knife down sharply. He could feel the slight pressure on his push as the knife met bone but the pressure was quickly gone. Then he heard a sickening crunch followed by a gasp then, a horrible earsplitting scream that ripped though the very core of his being. It attacked him like the very knife he was holding, causing him actual physical pain. It didn't last very long but long enough that it rang though the room. Artemis didn't open his eyes quite yet, however. He hadn't realized how _easy_ it was. Once he started it was just so simple and it felt…_effortless_; effortless but horrible and wrong at the same time. It was a curious emotion that Artemis had never experienced. But the sudden wetness on his hand made him open his eyes.

Artemis daringly looked at Holly's face. Just as he had expected, Holly's eyes were open wide with tears streaming down then. Despite her efforts to be stoic, her mouth was still open as though she were screeching, but no sound came out. He could tell she was trying not to grit her teeth or make any sound. She was just staring at her hand. Artemis had seen broken finger bones before (having broken his when he was seven after crushing it in a drawer of a filing cabinet) but he had never seen anything like this.

He had severed Holly's finger right where it met the knuckle. The yellowish white of her bone was briefly seen before a spurt of blood covered it. The blood was pouring so fast out of the wound that Artemis was suddenly worried that he wouldn't get the chance to do anything else. He forced himself not to look at the detached finger that was sitting gruesomely in a pool of blood where it had fallen, already taking on a ghostly pale color. Holly's eyes were going in and out of focus. Artemis knew that if he didn't hurry she would pass out from the pain or loss of blood. Looking up at the screens, Artemis saw a motionless, ashen faced Trouble standing open mouthed. Artemis could tell that the scream that had escaped from Holly's lips still rang in his ears.

"Don't you see now?" he said in a voice that sounded not like himself. It was quiet yet strong but there as a note of something in it; desperation maybe? "Please," he almost begged, "please just give me what I want and this will be over. Don't make me hurt her anymore." It was only at that point that Artemis realized just how childish and weak he sounded but he didn't care anymore.

On the screen, Trouble's eyes darted from Artemis, to Holly, and back again. Artemis could tell that Trouble knew he didn't want to hurt Holly anymore, he knew just how desperate he was, just how mad he was.

Artemis waited for a nod or a shake of the commander's head that would either release or condemn Holly, but it didn't come. It was like the world had stopped on the other side of that screen. There was no yelling, no talking, no movement. Artemis took a resigned breath and turned back towards Holly. Even in light of the situation, Artemis was proud of how well she was holding up. Not only was she trying to keep it together, but she also looked the part of someone being tortured. This fact could not help the situation for Trouble at all. But, as Artemis looked upon Trouble once again and then back to Holly's bleeding hand, he knew he could not wait. The loss of blood would be too great if anymore time passed. Artemis suddenly felt a strong sense of foreboding, then wished desperately that he could just turn to Trouble, give out a laugh and exclaim that it had all been a joke. Yet he knew he could not. He had dug his own grave too deep, voluntarily jumped in, and covered himself with dirt.

Resigned, Artemis turned his attention back on the knife. Averting his gaze from her left hand and detached finger, Artemis fingered the knife softly before placing it next to Holly's right hand.

"I know," Artemis started shakily, "that her left hand index finger means nothing to you as her trigger finger is on her right hand, but your silence has condemned her." Artemis didn't even want to look at the horrified look on Trouble's face this time nor did he want to look at Holly's silent loathing and pain. He didn't close his eyes this time for that single second that it took him sever Holly's trigger finger. He kept his focus on Trouble's aghast face. His eyes were wide and bloodshot. He looked like he could not voluntarily blink. But behind all of this, Artemis could see relief. His shoulders untensed, his teeth ungritted, but most discouraging of all, a ghost of a smile could be seen on his lips. Artemis could tell that Trouble thought this was a test of endurance and that he had just won. Artemis didn't even hear Holly's stifled screams and sobs this time, nor did it bother him that his hands were drenched in a combination her blood and tears. All he could think of was one word: _defeat._

Artemis cried out with such rage that it caused even Holly, who was having difficulty staying conscious, to jump. Artemis _would not_ be thwarted by the people whom he cared about more than even himself. And in his sick anger, Artemis did something that he never thought he would do. Tightening his grip on the knife, Artemis swiftly brought its silver tip up to Holly's neck. Trouble's face drained of any remaining color, the smile disappeared from his lips, and he went stiller than Artemis had ever seen anyone go. It was the first time that Artemis noticed there were tears in his eyes and cascading down his face.

"I will." Artemis snarled, pushing the blade on Holly's skin, savoring the feeling of power. Holly's trembling ceased. Her eyes kept going in and out of focus; her hands lay limp on the table with the severed fingers lying in an ever-growing pool of blood. A small trail of blood beads fell onto Artemis' shirt sleeve as the knife scraped her skin on her neck. He no longer felt remorse or shame or whatever it was the he was feeling earlier. He needed that gold and he was damned sure going to get it. He felt an incredible high. His mind was reeling but it wasn't just that, it was slipping. He could literality feel himself going mad. It was funny because he had always thought that he had been insane the whole time. Artemis briefly wondered whether this was anything like the feeling of being high on morphine or opium. In front of him, Holly had disappeared and been replaced by ever person who had every challenged him, every person who ever told him he couldn't, ever person who had thwarted him. This made things much easier.

"Tell me I wouldn't Commander, I implore you to tell me. It would be a pleasure to get her off my hands and frankly, I wouldn't try very hard _not_ to enjoy the look on your face if I do. Everything you do is in vain from this point onward because I always win. Haven't you learned that yet? Nothing you do will be able to stop me. I will kill her without so much as batting an eyelash, and we both know that. All I'm asking for is gold, Commander and if I do kill her, you will have to live your whole life knowing that you could have prevented the death of one of your officers. You already have enough blood on your hands. So here is the last ultimatum I am ever going to give to you: give me the gold or Holly dies."


	7. Chapter XI

**Hello my amazing readers! For one thing, thanks for not dropping the story after the last rather dark chapter (but I'm not sorry if you found it to graphic/disturbing, I waned you...I don't feel sorry for you, you didn't have to read it!). It was my favorite chapter to write and it's proably may favorite chapter from WT (I love the dark studd XD). On another note, nothing much to report for this chapter. Sorry that's its kinda short. It was gonna be combined with the next one but I wanted to get it out sooner! So sorry for the shortness, the next one is much longer. Thanks for much for reading/reviewing and please continue to do so!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl.**

_It's in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped. - Anthony Robbins_

_

* * *

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_XI_

Trouble looked upon the screens in front of him with a mixture of numbness and pain. What Artemis was doing was just slightly less than murder in Trouble's book. The atrocity that he was wreaking upon Holly was so sickening that Trouble felt more nauseous than he had in his entire life. His mind was reeling as he watched the man on the screen slowly lose his sanity. And Trouble felt it too. For a single moment, he couldn't not help but feel a sort of empathetic understanding towards the mastermind; for a short moment in time, he was insane too. He couldn't help but stare, transfixed, as the situation unfolded. Though he flinched with each swish of the knife and his heart almost stopped beating each time Holly's screamed, he could not help but watch intently. The scene was so beautiful yet terrible at the same time. Each action was planned by none other than the writer of the play himself. Each part was acted out but real at the same time. It was genius yet evil, perfect yet imperfect, and wrong yet right in so many different ways. But how could it be real? Can a person truly bleed that much, appear that hurt, look that sorry? Could a person truly feel so lost and want something so much that they have to resort to this…brutality?

All eyes in the room were glued to the screens. Higher ups, including Commander Chaplin, were all called and were presently on screens, watching as attentively as any. They had long since stopped threatening Trouble's job, but the silence was more threatening than anything. They wanted him to just let her die, a casualty of war they said. They said that gold was more important that a single officer and that Holly knew what she was getting herself into when she became friends with a human. But Trouble did not act, a fact that the higher ups found most annoying.

Trouble knew he should have stopped it before the knife had even been taken out. That he should have acted then and not waited for Holly to be maimed. But he, unwittingly, assumed that Artemis would do no such thing to the one he held so dear. Trouble could not lose his job and he would not lose Holly. He had had approximately two minutes to figure out which one he cared more about and it was only at that last moment when Artemis was holding a knife to Holly's throat that he realized. He loved her more than anything.

"So here is the last ultimatum I am ever going to give to you: give me the gold or Holly dies." Artemis was now saying up on the screen, a mixture of bloodlust and madness in his eyes. He was holding the knife to Holly's neck, a trickle of blood already dripping down onto the white shirt she was wearing. Trouble didn't look at her hands, too afraid that he would be sick. But he did look at the fear, pain, and hurt in her eyes that were softly going in and out of focus as she struggled to stay conscious. The blood loss would take her before Artemis did if he didn't hurry.

He turned, in desperation, toward the rest of the room, observing the somber faces and wet eyes. The room swam before him briefly, as he felt a hand on his shoulder; he hadn't even known he had been crying. Looking up, he saw Foaly standing above him with salty tracks marking where his tears had flowed.

"Give it up Trouble, please. We can't win either way. It's a job Trouble, just a job. But Holly…" His voice cracked and died as he shook violently. Trouble's throat closed up so he could not answer. It was nothing really, just a job. A job that was his whole life, the reason he got up in the morning, the reason he lived. But Holly…Frond Holly. She was so much more, so much more.

"Commander Kelp." Came Commander Chaplin's voice from a computer screen to his left. Trouble didn't look up, didn't was to see the dry, ashen face that was completely void of any emotion whatsoever. "She's just another elf. Give her up. If the fairy community needs that gold and they don't have it, you will be murdered on the streets before you can say 'not fair.' You will lose your job, be put on trial, and possible go to prison for endangering that safety of the fairy community. I am telling you, no _ordering_ you, to refuse."

"Foaly," Trouble said quietly to the centaur making a snap decision that would haunt him forever. "Get the bio-bombs ready, not the gold." A silence filled the room, the loudest silence any of them had ever heard.

"Good man Kelp!" Commander Chaplin roared suddenly, causing them all to jump. All of the other higher ups nodded in agreement even if they didn't look too pleased. "If we bio-bomb within the hour, we will be able to get everything cleaned up and get out of there by tomorrow morning. I'll see that you get a medal for this Kelp." And with that, Commander Chaplin terminated the link. All of the others, recognizing either success or defeat soon followed suit. Before long, there was only Butler, Foaly, and a few techies left in the small makeshift office. They all gaped at him, appalled. Trouble couldn't look at the tears running down Foaly's face nor the grim disappointment on Butler's features.

"Commander, I am waiting, and so is Holly." Came Artemis' pointed tone from the screen. Trouble thought he heard a shake in the genius' voice but it must have just been his ears. He opened his mouth to condemn Holly, but before he could speak, Foaly lost control of his silent demeanor.

"No!" Foaly yelled, getting up so fast that his chair fell backwards onto the ground. His outburst caused everyone in the vicinity to jump and stare. "You can't do this Trouble. There is nothing neither ethical nor moral about it!"

"I can't _not_." Trouble growled taking a defensive approach and using the arguments Commander Chaplin had used on him just moments before; arguments that Trouble didn't see any logic to. "I am under strict orders not to lose that gold. Holly knew what she was getting into. She knew there was a possibility that it would come to this, and she took that chance."

"You will be murdering her yourself!" Foaly persisted, his pallor rising to a deep red in his angered passion. "Is that what you want on your conscious? Is your job that much more important that Holly's life? All she has ever done is fight for justice for the LEP. _This_ is not justice Trouble; this is a sick joke! You'd be murdering not only her, but everything she's ever worked for over gold!"

"What choice do I have, Foaly?" Trouble yelled, his color rising. "What else can we do? There is no way we can win. There is never a way we can win when Fowl is involved; we should know that we can't best him by now. It's my job Foaly…it's what I live for. I can't give it up." Trouble felt a thousand years old. It seemed as though both choices were neither easy nor right.

"You job may be what you live for Trouble, but it's Holly's life. Even if we never have bested Artemis, it doesn't mean we can't try."

"I can't…we can't…" Trouble struggled to get the words out through the lump in the back of his throat that had reappeared quickly.

"Yes you can." Butler growled quietly, speaking for the first time. "We cannot just sit here and let the events play out as if we had no hand in the outcome. What would Holly do? Would she care whether or not her job was on the line if the other option was helping someone out or saving a life? Holly would not let herself be beaten by Artemis Fowl without giving him the fight of his life; and neither should you. Ask yourself Commander, what would Holly do?"

Trouble put a hand to his eyes so as to hide his weakness. Nothing could have ever prepared him for this moment of indecision. The choice was himself, or Holly. Even as a private, it is drilled into your head that you are to serve the People and not yourself. If you have to endanger your life to save a fairy, it is your duty to do so without question or regret.

He suddenly thought of all the orders that Holly had ever disobeyed; times when she strictly went against an order even though it threatened her life and her job. It always turned out in her favor, always. Maybe, just maybe, Trouble would have a bit of that luck too.

"To hell with my job." Troubled muttered to himself. He looked up to see both Butler and Foaly, as well as numerous techies who had been listening in on their conversation, give him nods of approval and even some small smiles.

Trouble looked up at Artemis and Holly, so close to each other that they could have been lovers, then squared his jaw. Every single person in the room seemed to wait with bated breath. Though Artemis could not hear him, Trouble began to speak. "Artemis Fowl, you will have your gold. But you will have more than that in the end. When you give us Holly back in exchange for the gold, you can expect all hell to break loose. You will have your gold in one hour's time. You will exchange Holly for it on the front lawn. But I warn you, I'm not losing my job and not getting some kind of reward in return. Revenge is coming Artemis Fowl, and you best be ready when she does."

Less than a mile away, Artemis Fowl smiled briefly, obviously guessing what Trouble was saying. It was only after he took the knife away from Holly's neck that Trouble found the strength to terminate the link.


	8. Chapter XII

**Hey my awesome readers/reviews! The school year is winding down but I still have finals to take care of (eek!). Sorry if this chapter gets kind of boring in the middle because of all the explinations that have to take place, but stick with me! We're almost done with WT! Maybe...three, four more chapters? The next chapter is almost done but might not be posted until later next week or the next week just because of finals and vacations (but I'll try to get it up before I leave). Thank you so much for all of the reviews! They really encourage me as a writer and encourage me to update sooner! :) Please review!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl (not do I ever think that I claimed to).**

_Would you mind if I killed you?  
Would you mind if I tried to  
Cause you have turned into my worst enemy?  
You carry hate that I feel  
It's over now  
What have you done? _

_-"What have You Done" by Within Temptation._

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_XII_

Pain was all that Holly could feel. Pain, pain, and more goddamn pain. It wasn't just her fingers (or lack thereof) that hurt; there was a pain, more real than anything that she had ever felt, pounding like a bruise in her soul. She thought she had been betrayed before, but it was nothing, _nothing_ compared to this. She wasn't truly betrayed until _he_ had hurt her, knowing _he_ was hurting her yet still _he_ did nothing about it. That was real betrayal.

Her vision was spotting up so that she couldn't see the screen to see Trouble's answer, but she expected to feel the knife go into her skin at any moment. The pain from the small cut he had made on her neck was nothing compared to the pain that she was feeling elsewhere. The funny thing about pain is, even if the damage is concentrated to one area (say your hands for instance), it still feels as though your whole body is on fire…something that Holly was finding out all too well. It would be a relief now, to not feel anymore. To not feel this ache, this treachery, this hurt. It would almost be worth it for that blade to pierce her skin as long as it meant she would sink into a blissful oblivion.

After a minute (or it could have been an hour, Holly didn't know) the point of the knife left her skin then, a second after, she felt the arms that had been holding her in a death hold, loosen slightly and then swing her up into a pair of strong arms. The person holding her stopped down for a single second as if to grab something fallen on the table, and then set off. She felt herself being jostled up and down, very quickly as though the person holding her were sprinting as fast as he could. Holly didn't look up to see who her rescuer was (_for it could not have been Artemis_) but just lay there, crumpled and broken. Blood was still pouring from her hands leaving stains on the carpet, but her rescuer did not halt even to clean it up. Down the hall and a flight of steps they went, the muffled sound of footsteps suddenly became clearer as they entered a room with hardwood or tile.

Suddenly cool air met Holly's face and she buried her face into her hero's jacket. The pain was beginning to numb, as she floated somewhere, not really in her head, but not really out of it either. Although a shot of agony did shoot through her nerves as she tried to move the fingers that weren't there. The steady pump of her rescuers feet became her lullaby as she began to fall asleep. At least, she thought she was falling asleep, but she had a nagging suspicion that faintly bumped against her brain that if she let herself fall into the deep abyss that was calling her, she would never rise.

Presently, she felt herself being lowered to the ground, felt the cool blades of grass tickle her back. She smiled a lazy smile, the pain almost all gone by now, as was her vision. If only she could look into her rescuer's face one time before she went to sleep. That's what she wanted, just one look. She shook her head a little and a few spots went away. A tall figure was above her, looking down but she couldn't make out the face. If only the moon would come out. She felt something wet fall onto her face. But…it wasn't raining. Holly's eyes screwed up a little; this wasn't right. She had just been saved by whoever this strange person was, he should not be crying.

_All she wanted to do was go to sleep…just a little rest, and then she would thank him. _

"Damn it Holly, don't give up. We're almost out of it." Came the rough voice of her rescuer from what seemed to be a thousand miles above her. She tried to speak to tell him that she wasn't giving up, that she was just going to sleep, but Holly found that her tongue was too heavy in her mouth for speech. She let out a great sigh that turned into a groan of annoyance as she felt pain shoot through her left hand as her rescuer did something to it. He did the same thing with the other one, but Holly couldn't find the strength to tell him not to. It wasn't that bad anyway; the pain was nothing compared to what she had felt before.

"I return thee to the earth." Her rescuer's voice whispered from above her. Holly felt a small round object being placed in her hand at the same time that she felt that two…things had been attached to her hands right where her index fingers had been. Fingers forced her hand shut, causing minor pain, and then made her hand plunge into what she could only assume was fresh earth.

There was a spit second in which nothing happened, but then her senses were overloaded. She was barely aware of Artemis (for she realized now that it had to have been him) jumping back from her as shot after shot of magic entered her veins. The blue sparks ran across her body as if they were their own person, healing wounds, causing bruises to fade, and reattaching bones. Holly's body was flipped, twirled, and twisted this way and that, as all of her muscles preformed their full range of motion. She let out a keening sound that began to change pitches as she babbled nonsense in a thousand different languages. Her head was clearing, the pain diminishing, and she felt the presence of both her index fingers once again. She looked down at her hands but was unable to see them. It seemed like the majority of blue sparks were concentrated there, reattaching and healing. After what seemed to be many minutes of sheer, reenergizing bliss, Holly felt the sparks begin to grow scarce and then disappear all together. She, once again, felt cool grass tickle her back but this time, she had all her wits about her.

Magic was coursing through her veins as she enjoyed the feeling of running hot after so many days of having no magic at all. It was with reluctance that she opened her eyes. The first thing she attended to was the matter of her fingers. She looked at them and saw that both seemed to be healed, but each had an angry scar; something even magic wouldn't be able to heal. She moved them. Everything felt like it had reconnected correctly, but Holly knew that it was important to keep them moving just in case. Holly got up slowly so as to not get dizzy. She stood up, feeling once again powerful as magic coursed through her. She marveled at the power of magic as she noticed everything from her senses to her thought process had improved tenfold. Then she remembered why they had even needed healing in the first place.

Artemis was sitting on the ground with his head in his hands just a few feet away from Holly. He didn't look up as she quietly approached him. A mixture of complete and utter sadness and fiery rage ran through Holly at the same time. Here was _the thing_ that captured her, tortured her, and then after it all, told her he loved her. He was a fraud, a tormenter, a traitor, but somewhere underneath all of Holly's anger and sorrow, she couldn't help but love the man who had committed every damnable act under the sun. It didn't make sense to even her.

Artemis' shoulders were shaking and it took Holly a moment to realize that tears were cascading down his face. She stared for a moment, captivated by the sight of the person who had, just moments ago, ruthlessly tortured her without remorse, cry as if he had feelings. But then her trance was broken as Artemis looked up. His eyes had lost that hard, insane look that they had held when he had tortured Holly. That was a relief to Holly but it did not entirely extinguish her rage. Her eyes locked their gaze on Artemis' two icy blue ones as she bent down to get to his eye level. He opened his mouth as if to speak but before he could, Holly hit him as hard as she could across his face. His head swung back to face her once again, showing surprised eyes and red cheeks.

"I guess I deserve that." He said huskily, not taking his eyes off her face.

"Yes you did!" Holly nearly shouted, slapping him again. Her rage was building as her hand made contact with his face repeatedly. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes as she yelled at him. "You selfish, manipulating, foul pig! Why did you do that, you bastard? Why? You have absolutely no excuse for what you did! I hate you! I hate you more than Spiro, Koboi, and Abbot put together! Why did you do that to me after all those times you told me you loved me? _Why_?" Holly's knees had given out by the end of her tirade. She fell, half sobbing, onto the ground next to Artemis, not wanting to look at him; wanting it all to be over. She once again felt Artemis' arms around her as he pulled her trembling form towards him. She didn't even have the strength to resist. She tried childishly to hide her face from him so that he couldn't see her tears, but he took her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. His face was so red after the repeated poundings that he looked sun burnt.

"Holly, I'm so sorry." Artemis said, so intensely that Holly was taken aback. He had just ruthlessly tortured her and now he was apologizing with the sincerity of a sinner at confession, with tears in his eyes? "There are things that you do not understand about this situation Holly." Artemis continued with that same intensity he had used when giving his apology. "You will find all of the information out in due course but you cannot know right now."

"Why do I not deserve to know?" Holly demanded savagely. "Why do I not have the _right_ to know? You torture me and then expect me to just be satisfied when you tell me that I'll understand it eventually? No Artemis, you're going to tell me _now_." She brandished her fingers at him, showing him the scars. He flinched as he saw exactly what damage he had inflicted. "You did this to me Artemis and there's not way around that. Do you get that you tortured me? Do you understand that I might never forgive you for this? This hurt me more than your black heart can ever comprehend. Not to mention to risk you put on my life by trying to heal me after at least ten minutes! The LEP want to kill you more than ever now. And after this," She gestured to her scars once again, "I might be the one to sign up to shoot you myself. So you had better give me some kind of explanation Artemis Fowl. Are you that desperate for gold?" Holly said the last sentence as almost a soft moan. Her anger had diminished with her outbursts and she felt more drained than she had in ages.

"Holly, I cannot tell you." Artemis said cautiously. Holly tried to speak but Artemis cut her off. "But I can show you." Before Holly could even react to this strange turn of events, Artemis pulled out the knife that still had Holly's blood on it from the torturing. Holly automatically jumped backwards but Artemis seemed not to notice. Instead, he slashed the knife down onto the soft flesh of his arm, causing a deep gash and a considerable amount of blood to appear. Holly gave out a cry. Artemis looked up at her with an expression that suggested he had forgotten she was sitting there. Holly was just about to bring her hand down on Artemis' wound to heal it when something strange happened. Before she had even touched him, blue sparks began rushing to the wound.

"You…you have magic?" Holly stammered, staring at the wound that was no longer there and the blue sparks that were fading fast.

"I never lost it." Artemis explained. His voice was light but his eyes were as severe as ever. "True, it seemed that way after we went into the past together but it is amazing what you can do if you put your mind to it. Humans have magic, Holly. I daresay that they have the same magic that fairies possess. We have, however, forgotten how to use it. But once you know what it is that you are trying to tap into, it makes the task much easier. I knew what magic felt like, what it was like to use it, how I used it. Through concentration, determination, and a few rituals, I was able to access my magic once again."

"This is…" Holly tried to find the words to describe exactly what this was but couldn't. Up until a few days ago, Holly might have been only a little less than ecstatic, though still wary, to find out that Artemis still had magic but now he was more likely to use it to hurt people than to not. "What does this have to do with anything?" Holly finally was able to choke out. No matter how much of a shock it was to find out that Artemis had magic, it still did not explain why he captured and tortured her, nor gave any explanation to how he was going to "show her."

"Holly, over the past couple months, I've been…reclusive. I sat in my room for hours at a time, apparently doing nothing. Butler must have thought that I was going mad." Artemis gave a quiet chuckle that was void of any hilarity. "I spent those hours doing two things. The first was planning this." He gestured to Holly who knew immediately that he was talking about her capture. "The second was…" He paused as if her were trying to decide whether or not to tell her. "I studied The Book with an obsession that was unknown even to myself. It holds vast amounts of information that I had not understood before; information that I could only understand when I possessed magic, for I had successfully gained it back at this point. The one part of The Book that fascinated me the most, was the passage containing information about, in the Gnommish tongue, _Glázia_."

_Glázia_ was a sacred magic that only certain certified magical beings and LEP personnel were allowed to know. It was the art of mind reading but it could also extract memories and probe for traces of magic. It was a rarely used interrogation method considered both unethical and damaging to the receivers mind. So unethical in fact, that it was not even used on the lowest criminals, and even if it was used on the scum of the earth, it would be frowned upon and instigate an inquiry. Humans were the only beings that an LEP officer could use _Glázia_ on without clearance or investigation. It, in some situations proved the only method of extracting information from an accused, but most of the time a little fear and minor physical damage was all that was needed for them to talk.

"Yes," Artemis said at the look of mixed wonder and disbelief on Holly's face. "The art of probing minds." Artemis continued. "I had remembered when you probed my mind to see if I had any magic back when my mother lay dying on the bed beside us. Though he would not admit it, Foaly helped me to achieve what I wanted."

"That's impossible." Holly interjected. "No one in Haven has had contact with you for years!"

"Think about it Holly, Foaly, being the egotistical genius that he is, would not be able to resist a challenge. All I had to tell him was that I had obtained magic, though I did not tell him through what means, and that I needed help. First, it would have seemed the highest of compliments to him to hear me ask for his help. Second, he would help with something no one else in history has ever done, in that he would teach a human how to use the deepest forms of magic. Illegal of course, but I suppose that would have just escalated the thrill." Holly didn't know what to say. _Foaly_ helping Artemis? Without telling anyone?

"At the time that I learned it, my plan to imprison you was just in the beginning stages. I wanted to learn this _Glázia_ simply to gain the knowledge, not to use it to help me achieve my goal of capturing you. It was only after I mastered it that I began to contemplate its use in my plan. So I learned it." Artemis' eyes gleamed with triumph. "But by then, Foaly had realized just what I could do with this power and refused to instruct me any further; as if I needed it. But even without his help, I took it a step farther. I could soon, not only probe minds to gain information; I could send information, something that only a few fairies have ever achieved, and something that you yourself are trying to do."

Artemis was right, Holly had, for the past few years, been trying to master this art. All of the officers in the LEP were, but it was very difficult to master. Sending information through thoughts and memories was a foolproof way to communicate between officers without the chance of being overheard or having miscommunication problems. But it was a fruitless task for people like Grub Kelp who could barely think, let alone send thoughts. Holly almost had it down but still had not achieved the desired result; she kept sending her memories in black and white.

"It was simple," Artemis continued, "I just diverted the energy from gaining knowledge into pushing knowledge out of my mind. I soon mastered that art as well. It was only after I had mindwiped Butler and Juliet did I practice this new form of _Glázia_ on them. I was able to send them information, memories, make them see situations from my point of view, think what I had thought, feel what I had felt." Artemis voice trailed off and he almost looked wistful as he gazed at the stars above them.

"Artemis this is…wrong. Do you know what kind of power lies within something like this? Loads. You can make people see things they way you see them, see things the way you want them to see it. Empathize with you, do anything for you."

"You would have that power too if you could achieve it. What of the LEP? Wouldn't they be able to do the same things?"

"This…this is _not_ about the LEP Artemis! This is about you! Besides, the LEP is a tad more responsible than you." Holly was fuming. It was like they were back in the Arctic; all bickering and no progress. Her morals and integrity prevented her from exploring Artemis mind. He could make her sympathize with him and, in that, make her help him escape the LEP. Not to mention the fact that he should not even have magic in the first place. "Look, why can't you just tell me why you did all this instead of _showing_ me?"

"Holly, this is the only way that you can truly understand why I did everything! Don't you want to understand? Is your repulsion of the fact that I have, and can use magic, overwhelming your desire for answers?" Holly looked into his cold eyes, contemplating him. All of this would soon be over for him. If he somehow, miraculously, made it through and was put on fairy trial, the information that she could see in his memories might help him. But did she want to help him at all; after all he did to her? Anger was still down in the pit of her stomach and it was threatening to overspill again. She wished she had her Neutrino.

"The choice is yours Holly." Artemis said in calming tones, sensing Holly's anguish. "All the answers or none at all." He leaned back on his heels, arms folded across his chest, tearstained face contorted into a grimace of pain and indecision. He looked like a stubborn child who knew that he could get his way. Holly felt a sudden desire to laugh and cry out in frustration at the same time. He had her and he knew it. She couldn't resist answers, even though repulsion racked through her body.

"Fine." Holly said causing Artemis to give a small, sad smile. Holly grimaced and decided that if she made it out of this, she would be having a violent word with Foaly. "How do we do this?" she asked him. She wanted to get his over with as quickly as possible.

"Well, with the help of magic, the brainwaves can travel th-"

"Plain Gnommish will do fine Artemis. I'm not in the mood for all your genius terminology. I just got tortured, remember?" Artemis blanched at her statement but recovered quickly after closing his eyes. Holly felt a twinge of guilt seeing how much pain it caused Artemis to mention what he did, but as Holly looked at the scars on her fingers, the feeling quickly faded. He deserved it to feel a fraction of the pain he had caused her.

"Right then," Artemis said shifting uncomfortably. "It is possible to do this without skin contact but it helps if I touch you." Holly raised her eyebrow as Artemis got down to her level and eyed her body. "Um…the temples should work." He said almost blushing (though Holly suspected that the blush was due to the fact that he had said the word "um"). He placed both of his hands on either side of her head, his fingers lightly landing on her temples.

"Ready to enter my nightmare?" Artemis asked, his mismatched eyes looking directly into hers. Holly could tell that he wasn't kidding. It wasn't up until she viewed him from up close, that she saw that the shadow of pain and regret never left his eyes. She had a feeling that it had been there even before he had captured her. Holly felt a flutter of nervousness as she realized just how susceptible she would be. In next few moments, her life would be in Artemis' hands. He could do anything he wanted to her, anything at all. Was she really willing to put her life in the hands of someone who had cut off her fingers not twenty minutes before?

She had to be; answers were everything.

"Yes," she said nodding. Artemis smiled his vampire smile that almost made Holly change her mind, but before she could say anything or more, a strange sensation took over her mind and body as she was whisked away into Artemis' own personal nightmare.


	9. Chapter XIII

**Hello my wonderful readers/reviewers! First off I would like to thank everyone for their reviews! They encourage me as a writer more than you can know! I am sorry for the wait for this chapter. It took longer than expected and I wasn't able to get it up before my vacation. I also must apologize for the liberal used of italics in this chapter. Anything in italics is a memory of Artemis' and this takes up about 99/100ths of the chapter so I do apologize if it is hard on the eyes. Let me know if you want me to swap so that memories aren't italicized and present time thoughts are. This chapter is a little dark throughout the whole thing so this is your warning now (I do not want any complaints in the reviews about not knowing that there were going to be dark scenes). Although it is chapter 13 so it's appropriate that it is dark. XD Well thanks again and please review!!!!**

**(Oh PS. Lithium and Fluoxetine are meds for bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, respectively)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl...sadly**

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_I've been so lost since you've gone  
Why not me before you?  
Why did fate deceive me?  
Everything turned out so wrong  
Why did you leave me in silence?-- "Forgiven" by Within Temptation_

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_Chapter XIII_

Holly nearly gasped as the oddest sensation came over her. Her vision blacked and then came back, but this time she was not herself. She was Artemis. She was thinking his thoughts, she was seeing what he saw, she was _him_. In front of her (well, in front of him), was Holly herself. They were seated by the giant oak by which they had first encountered each other. They were celebrating the capture of both Opals with a bottle of Champaign. The scene was surprisingly familiar to Holly_._

"_Holly?" Artemis said softly, not taking his eyes off of the setting sun before them. Butterflies were filling his stomach with dread, but he realized that he could not go back. Something had to be said in order for them to move on. Holly, who was sitting so close to him that their shoulders were almost touching, turned her bright, mismatched eyes to look at him in an expectant manor. "What now?" _

"_What do you mean?" She asked, confusion dancing across her features but then masked as she collected herself. _

"_You, me, us? I have been," Artemis paused as he searched for the right words, "_Ignoring_ my feelings for you for quite some time. Correct me if I am wrong, but the feeling seems to be mutual. The kiss in the cage…" his voice trailed off as he looked towards Holly in order to gage her reaction. She sat with her arms crossed tight over her chest, her nails digging into her skin, and with her knees up. She looked the very epitome of uncomfortable._

"_Artemis, I don't know what to say." She finally said, not looking at him. Artemis felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach as he waited for her to continue. "I cannot deny that I possess…feelings for you. However," She gestured to him as she spoke, "You're human, I'm an elf. It wouldn't be acceptable by anyone's standards." She sounded almost as disappointed as Artemis felt. _

"_You have thought about this many times." It was not a question. Holly nodded helplessly, locking her gaze onto Artemis'. They sat in silence for many agonizing minutes, neither one knowing what to say. Artemis sipped the rest of his golden liquid just for something to do. He deposited the empty flute on the ground, casting it away as if it were going to infect him with some incurable disease. _

"_You had better get going." Artemis suggested in a harsh tone. He determinedly did not look at Holly, glaring daggers at the malachite colored grass beneath him. _

"_I'm sorry, Artemis." Holly said, standing up. "You know that it wouldn't work out." Artemis only grumbled, grabbing his recently flung glass off the ground and standing up himself. _

"_Don't be like that." Holly snapped. "I'm not a huge fan of it either but there is no way-" Her words were cut off by the fact that Artemis had placed his mouth over hers. To be honest, he had no idea what he was doing, as he had never kissed a girl in his life. He was merely acting on impulse. Holly started to pull away, but Artemis, by instinct, held her head in place with his hands. Holly finally relaxed under his embrace as her mouth molded to his. They stayed like that for thirty blissful seconds. It was Artemis who broke the kiss, and he watched Holly's face as he gasped for breath. Her face was expressionless._

"_Artemis that was," Artemis' face lit up as he thought of all the adjectives that described the kiss; among them passionate, marvelous, and limitless. "Irresponsible." Holly finished causing Artemis' stomach to drop once more. He, however, remained composed, not letting his emotions get the best of him. "Anyone could have seen us, and you had no right to do that without my consent! I would have never thought it of you Artemis! Always a gentleman, my foot! That was completely," her voice broke. She was flushed and out of breath from her tirade. "Incredible." Artemis did a double take as he watched her face break into a wide grin. _

"_But I thought that you said-"_

"_We'll see what we can do." Holly said, standing on her tiptoes to give Artemis a quick peck on his bewildered mouth. _

Holly almost smiled as the memory finished and she was given back her mind for the briefest of moments. She remembered that night as well. It had seemed so perfect then, so easy. But before she had the chance to reminisce more in depth, she was whisked back into Artemis' mind and into the next memory.

_Artemis was standing in a green field at dusk. The soft breezes made the grass sway at his feet and it was just about the time that crickets were coming out to chirp their happy songs. They mocked his pain. The field adjacent to where Artemis was standing held a large amount of cows who were grazing with their heads down, not even noticing the man who stood in the next field watching a retreating back. Holly's back._

_Going to Tara was normally an experience that gave Artemis pleasure as it meant that he was going to be able to see Holly, Mulch, or Foaly; his friends. But this time, he felt nothing but pain, betrayal, and sorrow. He understood but he did not understand. They were just beginning to experience how _good_ they were for each other. All those talks, the moonlit walks, the tentative kisses. But she could not get passed their differences to see that they fit together like pieces of a puzzle. She was walking away from him for forever. She would never be back; she had told him as much. She didn't want to come back and that's what hurt Artemis the most._

_The tiny ring communicator that Holly had given him was unconsciously pulled off his finger and crushed in his hand. The tiny pieces of wiring and plastic fell silently to his feet as his hand unclenched. He felt an alien feeling on his face. When he put a hand to his cheek, he felt wetness there. He was _crying_. Artemis suddenly let out a sound that was in between a sob and a howl. Holly looked back briefly, a single tear running down her cheek, glistening in the moonlight and then she was gone. Her back disappeared over the hill and with it, everything good in Artemis that Holly and the People had ever put there. He turned to face the black limo that awaited him, feeling nothing but sorrow and hate. _

Holly's vision blurred and then cleared as the scene changed. In the few seconds that she was herself, Holly saw Artemis sitting on his bed, wearing nothing but a very un-Artemis pair of sweat pants. His eyes were dull and there were dark bags under his eyes that had not been there in the previous scene. But then, her mind was entwined with his and she was thinking his thoughts once again.

_Holly was gone. The only thing he had cared about, the only thing he had lived for; gone. It didn't seem real. Even though she had left more than a half a year ago, Artemis still had trouble getting past it. The pain of it was as indescribable as it was unbearable. A soft knock on his door caused Artemis to open his eyes and look up. His mother and father entered the room, both looking melancholy and anxious. His mother walked up slowly, and stood by his bed with one hand on his knee. His father stood just behind her looking both embarrassed and a little bit sickened._

"_Artemis," Angeline said in a hushed voice that suggested that she was by the bedside of a very sick person. "Your father and I are worried about you. You hardly eat or sleep, you rarely leave your room or do anything that you used to love to do, and these violent rages that you go into sometimes are simply," she shuddered, "terrifying. The screams in the night, hallucinations-" Her voice broke as her knees gave way. Artemis Sr. caught her before she hit the floor and set her back onto her feet. Artemis felt a flicker of emotion at the sight of his mother's weakness. But then the emotion was gone and the only safe emotion that there was to be had, filled him: indifference. "We realize that it was hard for you when your…girlfriend left." Artemis felt a rush of anger at this statement. They had no idea. They hadn't even known Holly was an elf for God sake. They just knew that someone left him. They were ignorant to his pain. "But this isn't coping." His mother continued. "We think that you need help. There is a psy-" _

"_You think that I need professional help?" Artemis shouted, jumping up from his bed, and causing his mother to jump away from him. _

"_Artemis, we just-" His father started, but Artemis interrupted him._

"_No Father! I do not need any kind of help! You two don't give a damn about me unless it means some kind of profit to you!" Artemis was beyond rage. Pure and familiar hatred coursed through his veins as he looked upon the two cowering adults that he had called his parents; that so many times he had asked help from. Now he only saw people who couldn't handle him, people who wanted rid of him, people who didn't love him. Betrayal of the worst kind. _

"_Please Artemis," His mother sobbed, throwing herself at his feet. "That that isn't true at all! We love you. We want to help." Artemis took several steps back from her trembling form, looking at it with clear disgust. His father let out a gasp at his evasive gesture and his mother sobbed harder than ever. _

"_I'm already past help." Artemis said darkly, looking away from his now hysterical mother. Artemis Sr. made his way over to his wife and put an arm around her, hoisting her up. He half carried her to the door, not looking at his son. Artemis felt that his father was too angry to speak and sure enough, when he turned around, Artemis Sr. had a look of pure fury on his face. _

"_You're delusional. You don't know what you are saying, which is exactly why you need help! You are going to get help, whether you like it or not!" Were Artemis Sr.'s last words to his son before he shut the door. _

The scene changed as Holly's mind reeled. This time she was Artemis was again in his room but this time it was only his father who was speaking to him.

"_Arty," Artemis Sr. said, looking more haggard and gaunt than Artemis had ever seen him. An unidentified emotion rose up inside Artemis chest, but then it dissipated. He really had no emotions these days; he was almost completely emotion_less_. "The business," his father continued in a voice that suggested he was in a morgue, "has failed. We have gone…bankrupt. I used up almost all of our money to pay off the tremendous debt that we have racked up so as to not suffer the consequences for not paying them off. We have enough money to make it through the next couple of months for necessities, but if something does not change, we will run out of money by the next house payment. I understand that you, yourself, have obtained a substantial amount of gold over the past few years." Artemis nodded, not really knowing what to say. "Please son, your mother, your brothers, and I need that gold or we will be thrown out of the house. All of our things…our memories."_

_Artemis looked away so as to not be embarrassed by his father's tears. Artemis tasted a bitter taste in his mouth that had not been there moments before as he realized what his father had said: _"Your mother, your brothers, and I."_ As if he wasn't part of the family, as if he didn't belong in it. His father needed his help. But he had had nothing to do with Artemis since that one talk almost a year ago. Typical family; never wanted anything to do with you until they needed help. Artemis himself had learned that the hard way when his father disappeared at the exact moment when Artemis had needed him most. Artemis had predicted that his father's business would fail and had seen this conversation coming. He had already made up his mind of what he was going to do a long time ago._

"_No," Artemis said simply, turning towards his father's horror-struck face. "It is my gold to do with what I please."_

"_But Arty," Artemis Sr. said, "Without a house payment, you will be kicked out of the house as well. You will gain nothing by withholding the gold from me." _

"_I will buy the house from you." Artemis said, "You will not make me pay the full price however, only enough to buy you and _your family_ a small apartment and have enough money for necessities. You will not try to put it up on the market. I guarantee you that anyone who looks at the house will not want to buy it." Artemis finished by flashing his famous, vampire smile that was void of humor. Artemis Sr. was obviously taken aback by his son's almost aggressive, unfeeling response. _

"_But-" Artemis Sr. started. Artemis almost felt pity towards the poor man, but then his anger consumed him. He was the person who had made him go to those preposterous therapy sessions that were like hell. He also made in ingest those worthless pills for God knew what mental illnesses. He thought that Artemis was insane, and he didn't care about helping him. His father just wanted him to stay quiet and follow his orders like a good little boy. But Artemis wouldn't do that anymore; he refused._

"_Is that all Father?" Artemis asked turning his attention to the ceiling. Artemis almost felt his father's gaze turn icy and hard as he looked upon his son._

"_Why did I ever even call you my son?" Artemis Sr. spat at him, revolted. "I hope that you will be happy here, knowing that you turned you mother and brothers out into the cold with barely enough money to get by." Artemis took this statement in without any feeling; opposite of what his father intended. After a moment of consideration Artemis lightly said, "Oh Father, do not be so dramatic. I will not be turning my family out into the _cold_. It is _summer_. I think that the boys would like a change of scenery anyway." _

_The stunned silence that filled the room was screaming with the unsaid insults that both men could have flung at the other. Instead, Artemis Sr. turned on his heel, his face red and eyes wet, and stalked towards the door. He opened it, though before slamming it shut he said with a venom that conveyed exactly his feelings, "Well, I will leave you to your evil thoughts." He paused with the door half closed and added (in an almost uncalled for fatherly way), "Don't forget to take your lithium and __fluoxetine. I wouldn't want to know what you are like off them." And with that Artemis Sr. shut his son's door for the last time. Unbeknownst to his father, Artemis hadn't taken__ lithium or __fluoxetine since he had been prescribed them. _

Holly was jolted into the next memory without a break.

_Everything was black. Artemis could see nothing but the impenetrable blanket of darkness that was draped over him. Emotions filled him up then emptied him out in a matter of seconds; first fury, then sorrow, then confusion, then happiness, then abhorrence. The pattern continued to repeat itself until Artemis thought he would be sick from the emotional vertigo. The words manic depression had new meaning. And then, suddenly, every emotion was gone. _

_He was still trying to comprehend it. Magic, he had magic. He could be unstoppable. But every time he tried to use those coveted blue sparks, a sense of almost indescribable loss filled him causing him actually physical pain. Nothing mattered anymore. His family was gone. His job was gone. His fairy friends were gone. Holly was gone. Everything was gone, gone, _gone_! There was no meaning for him anymore. He felt nothing…_

_Artemis felt his hand almost unconsciously grip the small pocketknife that Butler had given him as a Christmas present three years ago. The sudden desire to feel something, anything, took over Artemis. He was never one for self-mutilation. But Artemis was still sane enough to remember that pain released endorphins into the brain which, in turn, reduces feelings of pain and stress while relaxing the body. He longed for that feeling, and knew no other way to achieve it._

_Taking the knife in his right hand, Artemis took a breath, clenched his teeth, and slashed the top of his left shoulder. Pain didn't come however; only blue sparks. Again and again he slashed, and again and again the sparks which he had tried so hard to gain for a half a year appeared, healing his skin and numbing the pain. The only thing that remained was the dark scarlet blood, only visible in the pitch black room in the light of those damned blue sparks. His screams became more and more desperate while at the same time, growing in volume._

"_Please just make it hurt!" Artemis yelled to the empty room. "Please just let me feel something Artemis cursed the blue sparks and then, cursed himself for everything he had done, every life that he had ruined, everyone he had hurt. "Please just make it hurt." Artemis whispered once more before the knife fell from his grasp as he collapsed and the last of the blue sparks faded._

_He lay, facedown, immediately disgusted with himself. He had done the unthinkable, something that he never even thought he was possible of doing. His parent were right, he was insane. But no curable disease that was normally associated with the term. It was a different kind of insane, the kind that takes over, not only your brain, but also your heart…you soul. Maybe he did need help if he was resorting to such crude, drastic, and immoral methods of relief. _

_It was because of Holly; all this was because of Holly. His life was over without her, he had known that since the moment she had left him. Ultimately, he was going to die from it. If only he could see her once more before that happened. If only… _

_Artemis sat up so fast it made his head spin, but he didn't care. His brain had already started to formulate a plan. It was the most intricate, dangerous plan that he had ever conceived. Some would say that attempting to capture an elf of the LEP for a second time was suicidal. Artemis smiled his vampire smile to the empty room. Perhaps that was the point_. Perhaps that was the point…

Holly didn't want to see anymore. She thought she would be physically ill if she did. She was only aware for the shortest of seconds that tears were running thick and fast down her face before the next memory overtook her.

"_Will you help me?" Artemis asked in almost a pleading tone. He looked upon the stunned faces of Domovoi and Juliet Butler. He had just explained to them what he was going to do to achieve more "gold." Neither of them had spoken throughout his whole explanation, but he had expected them not to. He thought it was only acceptable that they should be appalled at his suggestion to kidnap another elf and hold her ransom. They were Butlers through and through._

"_Artemis," Juliet finally said slowly, "If this is some kind of sick joke, it isn't funny. I mean, capture an elf? After all we've done for them; after all they've done for us. You've lost it." Butler looked as though he were sharing Juliet's' exact thoughts but did not speak them aloud. Artemis looked at him imploringly, holding his breath. _

"_You already know my answer Master Artemis." Butler said seriously. "How you can even think about something like this is beyond me. Is gold really that important to you? Think of Holly, Foaly, Mulch even. What would they think of your proposition?" Artemis couldn't help but flinch at Holly's name and guilt filled him; Butler's obvious intent for Artemis thought he saw a triumphant look in the manservant's eye when Artemis' face displayed his emotions. But he had to keep it together. It was all part of the plan. _

"_Are you both quite certain?" Artemis said, already knowing the answer. _

"_Artemis, if you carry through with this plot, I will be forced to quit. Juliet too. This plan is mad and I will not, nor will my sister, be working for a madman. You know if it were anything else I would…but Artemis, kidnap an elf? You barely achieved it once, how do you expect to do it successfully a second time?" Butler brought up an interesting point. It would be hard to kidnap an elf a second time, especially after all the knowledge that they have about him that they did not have last time. But he had to stick to the plan; he had to. Plus it was all part of the challenge, and Artemis Fowl never backed away from a challenge. _

"_Alright then," Artemis said giving a strained smile. "Let's forget about it. It seems silly of me to have even brought it up. Will you forgive me?" Juliet immediately nodded enthusiastically, obvious happy that the madness was now behind them, but Butler looked wary. He knew Artemis well enough to know that he did not give up things that easily. _

"_What are you planning, Artemis?" He asked him, taking a step forward. _

"_Nothing, Butler, I assure you that I am planning nothing." Artemis didn't meet Butler's gaze when he said this. He didn't want his bodyguard and best friend to see the lies in his eyes. Guilt ripped through Artemis as he saw Butler scrutinizing him, deciding whether or not to believe him. _

"_By the way Artemis," Butler said as he continued to observe Artemis,"We're down to our last bar of gold. All of those unnecessary purchases that you have made have left us quite financially deprived. Should I-"_

"_No, Butler." Artemis snapped before Butler could finish. Butler gave his charge a suspicious glance before continuing._

"_Sir, we need the money from that gold. If we do not have it soon we will not even have enough money for food. Why do you wish to keep it so badly?" It took Artemis a few seconds to answer that question. With a great sigh he said, so quietly that only Butler could hear, "It's the only thing I have left of her." _

_There was silence in the room broken only by Juliet who said, "Artemis, are you ok? You've gone really pale." Ignoring her comment, Artemis looked at Butler with his mismatched piercing eyes. If only he knew, if only Butler knew that he needed her. Everything reminded him of Holly, everything. For God's sake, he couldn't even look in the mirror without seeing her eye and thinking about her. But the fact remained that no matter how much he abhorred seeing her everywhere and thinking about her, he needed the reminders to stay (at least partially) sane. But he couldn't tell Butler the reason that he needed to keep the gold, it would only alert him to just how far Artemis had slipped out of reality. _

"_Artemis," Butler said gently, "You haven't been the same since you kicked your parent out. Don't think I can't spot a guilty conscious when it is so blatantly clear as yours is. Wouldn't it be better if you let them back in the house. They could help you through this."_

"_I do not have a guilty conscious, Butler." Artemis said, affronted. "They don't give a damn about me. It's better off that they're away from this anyway. I wouldn't want to get them involved."_

"_Involved in what?" Butler asked slowly, and then louder and partially violently, "What are you planning?" Artemis said nothing but continued to glare at Butler who glared right back; a particularly nasty glower that would have made a lesser man wither. What could have turned out to be a violent exchange was halted only by Juliet._

"_I think that we all could use a drink." She said, her voice a little higher than normal. "I'll go get some wine." She left the room hurriedly leaving the two men still half-glowering at each other. Juliet must have been worried that another argument could break out while she was gone from the room because she returned to the room a minute later with a bottle of wine, looking as though she had sprinted both ways. "Here we go." She said, putting three glasses down on the coffee table._

"_I'll pour." Artemis suddenly offered. He stood up and quickly made his way over to the table while Butler eyed him apprehensively. _

"_That's very nice of you." Juliet trilled as she sat down on the couch, sprawling out her limbs in all directions. Butler's eyes left Artemis as his expression softened a little at the sight of his sister getting comfortable. Artemis turned his back to the two Butler's as he poured. He inconspicuously produced a clear vial full of colorless liquid from his jacket pocket, pouring half of the fluid into one glass and the rest into another. Carefully noting which glass was safe, he turned around and offered the other two glasses to Juliet and Butler while he slipped the small vial back into his pocket. Juliet immediately took a big gulp but Butler, who had obviously seen the vial in Artemis' before he had stowed it, hesitated. _

"_Just drink it old friend." Artemis said gently. "Get it over with. This will all be over soon enough." Butler was about to speak but then Juliet fell to the ground, obviously passed out. Butler gave a quiet sigh as he looked upon his sister and then to Artemis whose eyes were calm. _

"_Some things are better not knowing." Butler said before draining his entire glass of wine. Unconsciousness followed within ten seconds. _

The last memory landed Holly in Artemis' office. He was typing on his computer, his face grim and determined. The date in the bottom right hand corner of the computer read as the day before Holly's capture and the send delay read one week from that date.

_Dearest Holly,_

_The fact that you are getting this letter can mean only one thing: you or another member of the LEP have successfully managed to kill me. Do not think for one second that this means you or the LEP have accomplished to thwart the genius of Artemis Fowl. This was how I planned for it to end. I planned for myself to get killed, though I did not know how it would come about. How I see it, that fact is not important. I suppose that if I am dead it would be too late to tell you that I love you. I never stopped loving you. I love you with every fiber of my being; a love that could overcome anything and everything. However, you did not or could not see that. So that is the reason I had to capture you; I had to see you one last time before the end. Just to talk to you, to have the chance to hold you in my arms, would have given me everything that I could ask for at this point. My parent leaving, the failed business, my no contact policy with fairies (who make up a rather large portion of my life), and the fact that the world did not seem to need Artemis Fowl to save it anymore drove me to this desperate point. But foremost, what has made me like this is you abandoning me. It was because of you, who left me in a broken and almost legally insane state, that I was driven to the edge. However do not take the blame for my death; I am the one who happily jumped. _

_I _had_to capture you. I needed to have this one last adventure with you and, if I were lucky, maybe even convince you to stay with me. If that would have happened, I would have given you back to the LEP unharmed, so long as I was given permission to see you again. However, I do not foresee that happening. It was always my plan to give you back to your people (as I surely must have done if I am now dead). I was _never_going to kill you or let the LEP kill you because of me. I am sorry if I have hurt you in anyway. I just needed you one last time. The point of the gold in this matter was a simple one; my family. By now, the gold will have been cashed and settled in an account in my parents' names. I had to give them their life back before I took my own. I suppose, in a way this has been my best plan yet. The plan to be killed. My swan song, if you will. Forgive me for boasting, but surely a feat that only a genius could pull off undetected. You cannot call it murder because I planned it, but you cannot call it suicide because you were the ones who killed me. Rather ironic, is it not? Do not mourn my death (though I doubt that you will). Understand that I only held you against your will because I had to be with you. Know that I love you and, even though the feelings are most likely not mutual, that I will love you up until my dying breath. Goodbye Holly._

_Yours Forever, _

_Artemis Fowl II_


	10. Chapter XIV

**Hey guys. I just wanted to say that I am really sorry about the wait for this chapter. I've had a very...emotionally draining last month and still am but it's not excuse to keep you waiting. So I am very sorry about that. I do also want to apologize for this chapter; I've been having the worst case of writer's block and my descriptions (especially emotional descriptions) are way out of wack. Please bear with me; hopefully I'll get out of the lull before next chapter. Please review, and thanks to all who read and especially those who review, I wish I could give you all a cookie!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl.**

_"I was once was drowned in a river/  
She made me swim even deeper/  
She filled my soul with heavy breath/  
She held me down with love like lead" ---" Orchard" by Juniper_

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_Chapter XIV_

"Stop, stop, _stop_!" Holly yelled, wrenching her hands away from Artemis' head. She realized that she was sobbing; sobbing for him. She was weeping for everything that she had done to him, everything that he had done to her, everything that he had done to himself. Her body was racked with such violent trembles that she had to close her eyes just to keep from making herself nauseous. But as soon as she closed her eyes images, unbidden, unwanted floated in the darkness before her. Blood, Artemis' blood. The scarlet, that contrasted brilliantly with his pale white skin, ran down his skin and onto the floor. Artemis' blood flowing from self-inflicted wounds. The suicide note, his parents' faces when Artemis had deemed himself a hopeless case, and foremost, his face when she had left.

Holly's knees hit the soft ground without her even realizing that they had given out. She felt a hand on the upper part of her arm, attempting to assist her back to her feet, but she jerked herself away. Artemis' gave up and, instead, fell to his knees as well so to be on her level.

"Holly?" His voice was concerned and urgent. He had just showed her his deepest, darkest memories and recesses of his mind, most of which involved his elaborate plot to commit suicide, and _he_ was concerned about _h_er? Holly took a second to appreciate just how messed with the whole situation was before Artemis' voice broke the moment. "Holly, please open your eyes." Holly did so, finding Artemis' face directly in front of hers, not three inches away. Her breathing was still ragged, so much in fact, that she couldn't speak through the tremors that shook her. "Holly, you need to breathe. In… out…just like that. Keep doing that, slowly." His voice was gentle, instructing her as he kept his icy blue and hazel eyes glued to hers. They were red-rimmed from both shed and unshed tears. Gradually, her breathing calmed, although the occasional shudder did still cause her shoulder to shake and her breaths to hitch.

"That might have been too much for you to take in at one time." Artemis observed. If Holly had been her normal self she probably would have replied with a '_duh'_, but under the circumstances, she just nodded.

"I…you are…how could-"

"Holly, if you are going to continue to stutter at me, this conversation will be pointless." Artemis said, visibly straining to be patient. Holly gulped and inhaled deeply one more time before trying again.

"Suicide?" Holly said, her voice still shaking a little. "That's what this whole _thing_ was about?" Artemis didn't say anything, just closed his eyes in a painful manner. His silence spoke words. Words that Holly was afraid of, words that Holly didn't want to hear.

"When you left," Artemis started, "Everything became hard. Simple, everyday tasks meant nothing when accomplished. It was all pointless. I didn't want to be a genius; I didn't want to show off my vast amounts of knowledge. I just…didn't care anymore. Because no matter what I did, I wasn't saving the world. I suppose that's what I have gotten used to and when tasks didn't measure up to that, none of it seemed worth it. Then with my family," He gave a humorless laugh, "They did their best. But they didn't understand, how could they? They tried to help me but all it did was push me closer to the edge. I began to get bitter. I saw how great my father was with the twins, how my mother was always willing to do things for them, and I remembered; I never got that. They thought that because I was as smart as an adult meant that I should be treated like one. By the age of four they had me studying ten hours a day. I was always the one who had to stay up late into the night, just so that I could get the chance to speak to my father once that day, I was the one who had to stay strong when my father disappeared and was presumed dead, I had to take care of my insane mother for God sake!" He was shouting by the end with tears cascading down his face. He tried to brush them away but there were too many, too fast to even make progress.

"Artemis…" Holly put a hand on his shoulder, but he brushed her off as if she were just another tear on his face.

"If they hadn't been absent half my life, I would have grown up decent Holly. I wouldn't have been what I was. If only I had grown up, "Artemis lamented, "With the parents that my brothers have. I would never have met you or the People. You would have never left. None of this would have happened! If only…_if only_." He blamed his parents just as a toddler blames his sibling for causing a fight. It was childish, but it was true. Just knowing that broke Holly's heart. She had never fully understood just how hard it must have been for Artemis to grow up in the environment that he did. She had always assumed that because he was gifted and wealthy, that everything had been great up until his father's disappearance.

"Artemis, it doesn't matter what could have happened. Think of everything that you've done for the People, everything that we've done for you. If things had not happened exactly as they did, Opal could be running Haven right now, an entire race of could be destroyed, fairies could have been found by humans. No matter what the LEP or the Counsel say, you have helped us more than any one person. And it's _because_ your parents weren't there that it all happened."

"But then you left." Artemis said darkly, "You were gone, the People were gone, almost half my life disappeared when you left. You made me what I was then you abandoned me, leaving nothing but who I had been before I met the People. No calls from you, no annoying intrusions courtesy of Foaly, I would even have welcomed a visit from Mulch. I had nothing to prove that any of it actually happened. Butler destroyed all of the fairy equipment and weapons that we had because he thought it would help me cope. But in reality, those were the only things that kept me sane. They reminded me that all the adventures, all of the conversations, all of the emotions _did_ happen and were not just figments of my overactive imagination. Without them, I began to forget. I would wake up days on end, and wonder if it had all really happened. I began to lose myself." His shoulders shook with dry sobs, the shudders causing his voice to shake. "When I did remember that it was all real, I was so scared; scared that I would forget again. I was scared to sleep, scared to do anything that would get my mind off fairies because I was convinced that if I let you out of my mind for two seconds, you would never come back. You had already deserted me in real life; I couldn't let it happen in my mind too."

His vulnerably startled Holly. Artemis had never before spoken about fear to her, especially his fears. Holly had never thought about how deep of an affect the People had had in his life emotionally.

"Quite cliché, is it not? The young genius with the questionable childhood, loses everything, can't fit in, and is then driven suicidal by his own isolation." He spoke in a low monotone, without emotion. Holly didn't know what to say. His tears had ceased, leaving nothing but salty tear tracks.

"You're going to get killed for this." Holly said quietly. She had known it all along, she even knew now that it had been Artemis' plan all along, but saying it out loud was different. It was like the full impact had just hit her. In a few hours, Artemis would most likely be gone forever. She wouldn't be able to see him, talk to him, or even exchange irking banter with him. This realization hit her so hard that her breath was physically ripped from her lungs.

"I know." Artemis said, looking morose. "But didn't I just tell you-" He never got the chance to say whatever he was going to next. Holly (for reasons that even she didn't know) had stood on her tiptoes and was now kissing Artemis gently. She could tell he was surprised when he stiffened but then he relaxed and began to sink into her kiss. His hands slowly wound their way around her waist, pulling her into a close embrace. She could taste the hunger on his lips and immediately knew that he had been waiting for the moment for a long time. They stood, losing themselves in the other, for many minutes. The need for air suddenly overcame them and they broke apart. The stood there for a few moments, just looking at one another, trying to guess what the other was thinking. Finally Holly broke the silence.

"What are we going to do?"

"We?" Inquired Artemis, his tone light yet confused, a small smile playing across his lips that was mostly likely in response to the kiss. Holly forced herself not to roll her eyes.

"It doesn't take a genius to know that I still have feelings for you Artemis." Holly said rather curtly.

"Well I did get that impression. I wouldn't expect someone who loathed me to kiss me as passionately as you did." Artemis joked flippantly. His sudden change of mood startled Holly. One minute he was dark and the next, light. It was enough to make her head spin.

"Is this really the time for you develop a sense of humor?" Holly asked incredulously. "It doesn't matter what I feel for you, what you did to me deserves death. I can guarantee you that you will be executed for what you did and I might still be the one who volunteers pull the trigger.

"I know that Holly, and I am fully ready to accept the consequences for my actions." Artemis said, the smile fading from his lips and the dead look reappearing in his eyes.

"So you're still suicidal? You don't even want to fight for life? You don't even care?"

"Did you think that because you kiss me, that I would turn around and love life again?" Holly didn't answer. The truth was that she had thought that if Artemis' knew her feeling for him that it would change his outlook on life at least a little.

"Holly," he said her name as if he were reprimanding a three year old. "It doesn't matter whether or not I want to live. I've already sealed my fate. There's nothing you, or I, or I doubt even the Commander can do about it. I planned this Holly, never forget that. I will see to it that my plan plays out in its entirety."

"You are so…" Holly struggled to find the right word.

"I'm a genius Holly." Artemis supplied. "I have succeeded at everything I've ever done. I have discovered a new race, delved so deep into and understand so much of the human mind that I am practically a mind reader; I have even mastered quantum physics. I have defeated everything in my life worth defeating, except one thing; death. The only way to conquer death is suicide. Since I have nothing to live for, it seems, to me, to be the perfect opportunity to master the ultimate conundrum of life."

"You speak of death as if it were just another problem on a page." Holly observed, as she tried in vain to keep her voice steady.

"Isn't it?" Artemis asked, his clear icy eyes revealing just how sincere his question was. Holly's throat closed up once again, making it hard to swallow. His indifference was as heartbreaking as it was terrifying. Holly felt more tears threatening to escape her eyes but she blinked them away, thinking that she had already cried enough to last a lifetime.

"Artemis I..." Holly didn't know what she was going to say. A thousand things that could have sprung to her lips, died in her throat as though they weren't even thoughts at all. Every subject that she could have started flashed through her mind in shining icy blue letters; love, hate, depression, suicide, reasons, offers, questions, whys. Nothing seemed to fit the situation. A sudden desire to laugh and cry at the same time came over her but she was saved from having to overcome the feeling when Artemis swore loudly.

"Hellfire!" Artemis was looking at his gold Rolex. "We should have gone back to the Manor five minutes ago."

"Why?" asked Holly blankly.

"I'm not sure if you are aware of the fact Holly, but you are part of a hostage situation. The exchange is in a few minutes and if we don't get down there, they bio-bomb the Manor with both of us in it."

"Right," Holly said, her head suddenly pounding with the prospect of having to face Artemis' death. It didn't matter that he was suicidal, she had to stop it. If only there was a way. If only…She stopped suddenly, halfway through getting up. Artemis shot her a quizzical look but she didn't explain. Her mind was reeling as she thought of the possibility. Could it work? "Artemis, I might have a way."

"A way for what Holly?"

"A way that you could be spared. I'll have to check the details with Foaly but I'm pretty sure, by law, that I can get you off in court without so much as a jail sentence. You just have to surrender yourself."

"No." His response was unusually quick and rough. "I told you Holly, I planned this, and I will see to it that what I started will be finished."

"So you would give up your life just so that your plan can succeed?" Holly gaped at him. Could a man be so stubborn that he would be willing to die just so that his pride would not be tarnished? Her only solace was found in the fact that maybe, just maybe, she could stop it.

"I'm going to respond to that as if it were rhetorical." Artemis replied. "Come Holly, we need to go." Somehow his arms suddenly found themselves wound around her waist, half carrying her back to the house as they walked. Holly noticed the contrast in their skin tones, mocha on ivory. It was only a physical example of their differences. Species, personality, height, age; they all were differences, too big to overcome. Their short fling all those years ago had taught her that. But he was still her comrade, her friend, and she would not let him die without a fight.

Artemis glanced at his watch again as he redoubled his pace. Holly had trouble keeping up, especially with his arms awkwardly jarring her with every other step. Artemis seemed reluctant to let go when she attempted to disentangle herself from his thin arms, but he gave her up after a moment sensing her struggle. They had entered the Manor by this time and both had automatically slowed their pace. Neither seemed eager to part. They made their way together, neither one talking, until they got to the front room. When Holly glanced out of the window, she could see nothing except for green grass and something that might have been a heat spot. She knew better.

"Do you have everything?" Artemis asked, his voice suddenly formal. He and Holly both looked down at his shirt that she was still wearing, striped and stained with both mud and blood. The grimy garment hung loosely on her shoulders, making her look almost as morose as she felt.

"We don't have time for my jumpsuit but Foaly will kill me if I leave my helmet. Where did you put it?"

"My study. Take that hallway and two doors down on the left." He pointed to the hallway adjacent to them. Holly sprinted across the jet-black carpet as she counted two doors down. She flung open the study door and, after a minute of searching, found the helmet amongst a pile of LEP gear that were strewn across the desk. Holly didn't even waste time in wondering how Artemis had obtained all of the equipment; she accepted the fact that she probably never know. She grabbed it by the top with both hands and darted out of the door, kicking it closed with her foot. She ran jogged along the midnight carpet, strangely noticing the lack of shadows on the dark fabric. Their absence made her shiver though she didn't quite know why.

"Please hurry Holly," Artemis called, his voice dead sounding again, "We need to get out there before-"

"Nothing's going to happen." Holly said firmly before Artemis could finish. She skidded to a halt in front of him. "I'm going to fix this, Artemis."

"Of course you will." Artemis said, smiling a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He didn't believe her, that much was obvious. But whom _did_ Artemis Fowl believe, other than himself?


	11. Chapter XV

**Well my amazing readers/reviews, this is the end. This is the final chapter of Within Temptation. Well...the last real chapter. There will be a short (and I mean short) epilogue that will follow this chapter very soon. This is a little longer than normal because it was two chapters until I found out that I'm moving soon and I won't have Internet connection for a while so I combined the two chapters because I didn't want to leave you guys with too evil of a cliffie (haha well that was a run-on). Anyway, I hope that you enjoy it and remember...things are not always what they seem ;) Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and please continue to do so, it makes me happy! So without further ado, I give you the last (real) chapter of Within Temptation.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl**

_"I said leave it, leave it, leave it/  
It's nothing to you/  
And if you hate me, hate me, hate me/  
Then hate me so good that you can let me out/  
Let me out of this hell when you're around"_ **--- "Rootless Tree" by Damien Rice (the live version of this song at Abbey Road inspired the whole Arty on the piano scene)**

_

* * *

_

_Chapter XV_

The sound of the doors opening echoed across the seemingly empty lawn. The only movement on the grass, other than the occasional breeze, was the nervous shifting of a lone figure in the very center of the grounds. The Commander stood at his full height of three feet and two inches yet still looked like a doll compared to the gargantuan manor. He stood next to a cart piled high with lustrous gold. It seemed that the LEP were going to keep up their side of the bargain. Artemis also had his bargaining chip. Holly walked slightly behind Artemis as they made their way down the marble stairs. She didn't want to do this but she didn't let it show. If she was going to convince Trouble of anything, she had to make him believe that she was not emotionally attached to the prodigy in any way. Holly snuck a glance around Artemis as they stepped off of the last step and onto the pavement of the driveway. Trouble face was easy to read, even from this distance. His eyes were gaunt and weary, as though he hadn't slept in days. His face had an all around dead look that Holly had never seen there before. He usually was the one around the office who made everyone laugh during a hard time. However, there was no trace of that man in Trouble's face, only detachedness. Trouble cleared his throat loudly, forcing Holly back to reality.

"Artemis Fowl?" Trouble called loudly, his voice echoing across the dewy grass. Nothing moved except a warm breeze (which might have actually been a hundred invisible fairies breathing at the same time).

"It is I." Artemis replied simply in his emotionless voice.

"We come here for an exchange." Trouble said as was regulation for a hostage situation involving a compliant captor. Holly knew that the conversation was being recorded for the inquiry that was bound to happen. "Caption Holly Short of the LEPrecon for one ton of unmarked ingots of 24 carat gold. Did you previously agree to these terms?"

"I did."

"Do you still agree to these terms?" There was a pause.

"This can all be different if you just say 'no' and explain. Please don't do this." Holly murmured to Artemis quietly so that even the sensitive LEP mikes couldn't pick it up.

"Yes." Artemis said loudly, ignoring Holly's plead

"Alright, this is how it's going to work." Trouble said in his 'no nonsense cop' voice. "I will send the cart to you and Holly will walk towards me. She will keep a pace slow enough that they will meet in the exact middle. After she has passed this point, she is free to flee as quickly as she chooses. The cart will not turn back, it's yours to keep along with all of the gold inside. If you should attempt to double cross us, there will be consequences. Do you understand?"

"I do." Artemis replied sounding rather bored. Trouble nodded and pushed a button on the cart, sending it into motion. Artemis turned towards Holly, giving her a small smile as he gestured towards the cart, which was now slowly making its way towards them. Holly swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. There were so many things that she could say to him, so many things that she wanted to say but she couldn't seem to speak.

"Holly, you need to move." Artemis urged gently, giving her a little nudge.

"I'm not going to let this happen." Artemis flashed her another sad smile before she whirled around and started to walk towards the cart of gold. Doing as she had been instructed, she kept pace with the gold, meeting it exactly in the middle. She didn't even pause to catch a glimpse of the radiant element, but instead broke into a dead sprint the moment that it left her peripheral vision. She kept her eyes on Trouble's relieved face, determined to talk him out of bio-bombing the Manor, but before she could reach him, she was overcome by at least forty, newly unshielded fairies who were all shouting questions at the same time. She lost sight of Trouble completely as more of them fizzled into view, either spraying her with foul smelling gel or asking her questions to see if any memory or brain damage had occurred. Many of the fairies were marveling at her fingers.

"But they're healed!" One officer exclaimed. "How is that possible? I saw Fowl cut them off myself! Is this another trick of that Mudboy's? But no, there are the scars. I swear to Frond I will shoot that Mudboy if the bio-bomb doesn't do him in first." Holly threw a desperate glace back to where Artemis had been standing seconds before only to find that he had disappeared back into the house. Holly knew that time was of the essence if she were going to save him but she also knew that the officers would not be satisfied until they confirmed that Holly was not harmed. For this reason, she put up with their inquiries for the next five minutes.

"No, I'm not hurt, yes I know what my address is, and no I do not see dancing trolls every time I close my eyes! I am fine just get off of me!" Holly put enough menace into her words that it sent the fairies scurrying. She felt a hand on her shoulder. "I said I'm fine! Oh Trouble, it's you. Sorry about that, you know how healing warlocks can-"

"Holly, you have no idea how happy I am to see you alive." Holly felt herself being lifted off the ground as Trouble gave her a bear hug. Smiling, Holly hugged him back feeling almost content.

"It was a bit iffy for a while there, but you should know that I always make it out of the situations that I shouldn't be in in the first place." Holly replied as Trouble chortled and set her back on the ground.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again Holly. I thought I had lost my best officer. When I saw all of that blood…" he shuddered. "But don't worry Holly; we're going to make Fowl pay for what he did to you. In a few moments, nothing will be alive in his house and you won't have to worry about him capturing you ever again."

"Trouble you can't kill him." Trouble's smile slowly faded, as he comprehended what Holly had said. "Please don't bio-bomb the Manor. You have me back, why can't we just forget about this?"

"Holly, you know I can't do that." Trouble said slowly. "It's against regulations. Why in Frond's name do you want to save someone who captured and tortured you? After all he's put you through, why do you think he even deserves to live?"

"He's not mentally stable. I can give you the names of countless drugs that he's been prescribed and is not taking. Think about it Trouble, it all makes sense. Why would he do any of the things that he did when he had been on such good terms with fairies?"

"I can think of a few reasons." Came Trouble's gruff reply. "He's evil Holly, pure evil. You need to get out of here. It's just a case of Stockholm Syndrome. I'm sure that if you get away from this place that you will feel differently."

"No I won't! Please Trouble, you can't do this." She didn't want to beg, but she realized that it was going to take more than what she was giving to convince Trouble. She needed someone else on her side.

No sooner had the thought formed in her brain, did she see Butler making his way towards them. He looked almost lost but not in the physical sense, it went deeper than that. "Butler!" She cried. "Help me. Tell Trouble about Artemis' state of mind. It wouldn't be humane to brutally kill someone who has no control of his actions."

"Artemis has control over his actions despite what he says." Butler said grimly once he had reached them. "He always knows exactly what he is doing. He cannot be stopped. If you give him a second chance, he'll stab you in the back and steal your gold on the way out. I thought I knew him but obviously, I was wrong. I'm not saying that killing him is right or wrong; all I'm saying is that maybe death is what Artemis deserves after all he's done."

"Butler," Holly gasped horrified, "He's your char-"

"I was fired Holly. He's my nothing. The person who I protected, bonded with, and thought I knew is gone. In his place is a monster who is willing to torture one of his best friends for gold."

Holly didn't even bother telling them the real reason that Artemis wanted the gold, she knew that they wouldn't believe her. They were both bound and determined to hate Artemis, Trouble because of everything he had done to her and Butler because Artemis had betrayed him. Holly really did feel sorry for the bodyguard. There were tears in his eyes, something never associated with a Butler. Holly could tell that Butler really did love Artemis but there was too much hurt on the surface, and right now, the surface was all he could see.

"What has to be done, has to be done." Trouble said firmly, putting a hand on Holly's sagging shoulder.

"Why Trouble? Why do you _have_ to? Why couldn't you just ignore this one order?"

"Because this will be my last act as Commander of the LEPrecon. I was fired for refusing to bio-bomb the Manor with you in it. I have to fulfill my last order." Tears leaked from the ex-commanders eyes. Holly couldn't say anything. She was too horrified at the fact that Trouble had been fired for trying to protect her. She didn't know whether to thank him or console him. "This job was my life Holly." Continued Trouble, visibly trying not to break down. "It was the one thing worth getting up in the morning for and now it's just gone." He seemed as though he were still trying to grasp it. Holly took his hand in both of hers, trying to take some of his pain.

"Is there anything I can do?" She asked as a tear splashed onto their entwined hands. Holly didn't know whether it was hers or Trouble's.

"Yes there is Holly." He said after a moment. He brought his face down so that it was inches away from hers and looked down into her eyes with a hard, determined look in his. "I love you Holly."

And before Holly could even respond to his proclamation, Trouble had crushed his lips onto hers. His hand held her face still and his lips hungrily attacked hers. Holly's head was spinning, this wasn't right. Trouble was one of her best friends; this wasn't how their relationship was at all. There was no feeling, no passion, no love in the kiss. It was utterly lifeless. It was nothing compared to the kiss that she had shared with Artemis. The person who was going to be killed if she didn't hurry. She didn't have time for this, let alone to figure out what her feelings were for Trouble. Holly broke the kiss suddenly, causing Trouble to jump back in alarm.

"I've got to go." She said shortly before turning on her heel and running the other way, leaving Trouble standing with a stunned and bewildered look on his face. Holly didn't really know where she was going or whom she needed to find. The fairies that she ran by didn't notice her until she streaked past them, each one calling to her as she ran. She came to a small makeshift tent, out of which walked the one person who could help her.

"Foaly!" Holly said skidding to a halt in front of the centaur. He, like Trouble, looked as though he hadn't slept in days.

"Holly, it's good to see you alive and kicking!" Foaly said, a huge smile plastered across his face. "Of course I knew all along that you would make it out alive." He was lying, Holly could tell that much, but Holly didn't have time to tease him for worrying.

"I need to know what would happen if Artemis went on trail in front of the council." Holly said breathlessly.

"What? Artemis isn't going to be on trail, we're due to bio-bomb in five minutes."

"Please Foaly; just tell me what would happen."

"_If_Artemis were to go on trial," Foaly started looking ruffled, "He would be treated as a fairy. Seeing as he has fairy magic he is part of our race, technically. He holds all of our same rights. However, that wouldn't help him in the least in this situation. He would be given a life's term in a high security prison, maybe Howler's Peak."

"What if Artemis didn't have complete control over his actions? What if he was majorly depressed, so much that he had medication for it?"

"It would depend on whether or not you could prove that Artemis had not taken his medication at the time when his crimes were committed." Foaly said slowly. "But if you can do that, he would be sentenced to a life's term of psychiatric treatment at a facility. Although if his doctor thinks that he has gotten better, the sentence could be changed to weekly sessions instead of a permanent residence at the clinic. Holly, do you know something that we don't?"

"Thanks Foaly." Holly said giving him quick hug before darting past him, towards the Manor.

"Holly, wait Holly! Where are you going?" Foaly was yelling behind her but Holly didn't turn. She knew what she had to do. With her eyes fixed on the Manor and thoughts of Artemis in her head, Holly, again, ran through the throng of fairies who were all preparing for the bio-bomb. She was so focused on her goal, that she didn't notice the hand that flew out of nowhere, grabbing her wrist, and stopping her in her tracks. Holly turned to slam whoever it was that was holding her in a death grip but stopped abruptly when her eyes landed on Trouble.

"Holly, where are you going?" He asked her, having to yell over the babble of voices that was surrounding them.

"I have to go back. I'm not letting this happen!" Trouble could see in her eyes that she was serious.

"Holly, this is going to happen whether you're going to 'let it' or not."

"Let me go." Holly commanded darkly, trying in vain to twist her wrist out of Trouble's grasp.

"As you commanding officer, I order you to stop this nonsense. Just get out of here Holly."

"With all due respect sir, you are no longer my commanding officer." Holly knew that this was the only thing that she could say to make Trouble let go. His hand loosed around hers, his body going weak from her blunt statement, and this was enough to allow Holly to slip her wrist out and hit the ground running. Her statement had hurt him, she was well aware of that fact, but Artemis' life was at stake. There was nothing else she could do.

She ran, ignoring the tumultuous yelling that filled her ears when the officers that she passed realized what she was doing. Arms grabbed for her but she slipped easily out of their reach. The middle of the Manor's lawn was the edge of the makeshift camp. Trouble had made it perfectly clear that no one was to cross that invisible line under any circumstances. Holly was elated to see that every single fairy obeyed this rule. She made her way to the front steps, easier now that there were no hand reaching for her, and took them two at a time on the way up. The heavy door to the manor was cracked the tiniest bit, just enough for her to slip through.

"No Jerkewitz, do not bomb the Manor, I repeat do not bomb. We have a situation." Rang Trouble's voice over the lawn, sounding outraged and terrified. Holly closed the door with a sigh, thinking about just how much she was going to need to do to make this up to him.

The Manor was seemingly empty; there was no sound but her own breathing which was echoing through the giant entrance room. Her heart was beating at least three times its normal rate and sounded four times as loud. She stopped, and was only beginning to wonder where Artemis was when she heard the sound of distant music. Piano by the sound of it, and someone singing along. Holly followed the sound of the music curiously through the confusing Manor's halls until she reached a giant brass door. Putting an ear to it, she listened to the sound of the music. It wasn't recorded or being played on some sort of Mudman device. She opened the heavy door to reveal the sight of Artemis sitting at a grand piano.

He was completely oblivious to her presence, despite her harsh breathing. It was a song that Holly didn't recognize, though the tune was familiar to her. His fingers danced across the grand piano's keys as if they were their own person. He sang with such passion that it was almost alien. His voice was not necessarily good, but it was filled with so much intoxicating emotion that, for a moment, Holly was convinced that she would sob aloud if he stopped. His fingers shook as he played the ivory keys, screaming his raw lyrics to the empty room. The lyrics were pleading; pleading that someone would hate him, that someone would let him out of whatever hell he was in. Holly thought she knew exactly to whom he was singing. The notes were angry but at the same time, they conveyed a sorrowful desire that made Holly's eyes fill up with tears. She stood there as the song progressed past the point of pleading and to the point of soft, agonized desperation. She felt herself trembling as she moved around the piano so that she could see his face. His eyes were closed so tightly that it looked painful. The thing that scared Holly the most was his expression; it was exactly the same as hers had been when he had cut off her fingers. Suddenly, she felt like she had been the one torturing him. Holly felt the music run though her physically as it turned almost violent again. The air was forced out of her lungs. Her ragged gasp was loud enough to be heard over the music, causing the notes to stop suddenly and Artemis to whirl around.

"Holly?" He said it as if he didn't believe that she was actually there. Artemis' eyes were red from crying and his face was still wet from the salty tears that had escaped his eyes. Holly didn't move any closer to him; afraid of the pain that she had caused. She could feel her breathing becoming constricted as she fought for control of her tear ducts. Artemis, sensing that something was amiss, rose from the low, black piano bench and moved towards her. "Holly what are you doing here?" Artemis asked, taking both her hands in his. "You shouldn't be here. The Commander is going to bio-bomb this place any minute"

"Artemis," Holly's voice was shaking from the musical violation that had just taken place. "I have a way."

"A way for what?" Artemis asked anxiously. He kept glancing out the nearest window, most likely worried that the manor would get bio-bombed while Holly was still inside.

"A way that you can get let off. No, listen." Holly insisted when Artemis opened his mouth to interrupt. "In court, you hold all of the right that fairies have because you possess magic. If we can prove, which will not be hard to do, that you were clinically and truly depressed, you cannot be tried as a completely sane person."

"Which I am not." Artemis pointed out.

"That's my point." Holly continued almost enthusiastically. "You can use that to your defense. You were not in the right state of mind when you committed these acts," she gestured to the two scars on her trigger fingers causing both of them to wince, "and therefore cannot be sentenced to jail. Fairy law states that if one's mental state of mind is not completely perfect, that they will be

sentenced to psychiatric therapy for however long the judge or your doctor deems."

"I see two problems with this." Artemis said after a short pause. "I have no intention of being locked up in a 'fairy funny farm' for the rest of my life."

"I already have a plan for that." Holly said patiently. "The place you would probably be getting therapy from is Dr. Argon's clinic. He owes me a couple favors so it shouldn't be a problem to have your living arrangements outside of the clinic easily arranged. And really Artemis, how long will it take you to annoy Argon to tears?"

"Not too long." Artemis said, smiling at her feeble attempt to lighten the situation. His brow furrowed as he thought. Holly was heartened to see that he was seriously thinking about it. "There's one more problem, Holly. I have no intention of leaving my house. The plan-"And that caused Holly to snap. It didn't matter how completely out of his right mind that Artemis was. There is no cause more pathetic to die for than _a plan_.

"I don't give a damn about the d'Arviting plan!" Snarled Holly. Her teeth were bared making her look more dangerous than Artemis had ever seen her. "I honest to Frond don't! You are coming with me and you are going to turn yourself in!"

"And how, may I inquire, are you going to stop me?" Artemis said quietly, straightening to his full height. Holly noticed suddenly just how much taller he was than her but she stood her ground. Normally she could dominate in any physically situation that presented itself, but this was different. Holly was worn out both mentally and physically, despite the recent Ritual, and Artemis was at least two feet taller than her. It didn't help her situation that she had no equipment or weapons to give her an upper hand.

"I swear to Frond that I will not leave this house unless it's with you by my side." Holly shot back. She had been ready for that and was pleased when Artemis' face turned from blank to shock and then back to emotionless. She had counted on that reaction. It was all part of _her_ plan.

"Holly, the whole point of my plan was to make sure that you didn't get killed!"

"If you," Holly said slowly, enunciating each word carefully so there would be no way that Artemis could misunderstand, "Mention that plan _one more time _I swear on every Book in Haven, that I will shoot you with the first gun that I find."

"Is that a threat Miss Short?" Artemis asked, his voice dripping ice and venom. He was so close to her face that Holly could see the beads of sweat that were forming at his hairline.

"Why yes, yes it is." Holly growled, not backing away. They glared at each other, neither one daring to break the intense stare that they were giving. The tension in the air was thick and very real. It seemed that Artemis was not going to back down either, so Holly did the only thing left to do. She punched him in the gut. Artemis' breath whooshed out of his lungs as he was forced

backwards, doubled over and clutching his stomach.

"What-was-that-for?" He demanded in between gasps. His face was scarlet from the lack of air.

"You cut my fingers off with a d'Arviting kitchen knife!" Holly screeched, beyond outraged.

"It was not a kitchen knife." Artemis said still trying to breathe. He had, however, regained enough air to sound affronted.

"I don't give a damn what kind of knife it was!" Holly half yelled, very much tempted to dish out another blow. "The point is that you owe it to me Fowl; you owe it to me! You will _not_ just give up on life."

"Holly please," He was begging now, it would have been pathetic if not for the sincerity in his voice, "Please just get out of here. There will be no purpose in your death."

"I was thinking the same thing about you." Holly replied coolly. "Artemis, I need you to do this for me. We can get you help, you can restart your life, and the world isn't going to stay safe forever. We're going to need that genius brain of yours again; it was a mistake to ever think that we wouldn't. What happens when Opal escapes from prison and ransacks Haven? Or what happens when another Zito comes across the fairy race? Haven needs you, the LEP need you, Frond, even I need you. You cannot just give up." Artemis' eyes were impassive but Holly knew that the thought of more adventure was mouthwatering to him. Nothing appealed more to him than a challenge, a chance to use his gifted intellect against someone who matched his intelligence. The temptation was sweet; the only question that remained was whether it was sweet enough. The silent minutes ticked on and were excruciating for Holly as Artemis weighed each scenario in his mind.

"If I will do this, there is a condition." Artemis said with a reluctant sigh.

"Anything." Holly breathed, hoping against hope that he actually meant to go through with it.

"My parents and my brothers get to keep the gold." Holly nodded, she had expected as much. After all the work he had put into acquiring the gold, there was no way that he was going to give it up for anything.

"You're quite the persuader." Artemis commented after a pregnant pause.

"I am when I have to be." Holly replied feeling light and relieved. "But I doubt that my powers of persuasion had anything to do with your decision. You must have figured out someway that this could benefit you. You wouldn't have agreed to it otherwise."

"Oh ye of little faith. However, as it happens, the thought of taking up a permanent residence in Haven appeals to me. What with the impending adventure, the technology to be stolen, and the other," he glanced at her surreptitiously, "Opportunities that the city provides. I think that I can find uses for my genius. Of course, I would rather have it my way and let them finish me off now but, as I said, you are an excellent persuader." Holly winced at his bluntness but her knees still went weak with relief. She smiled her first real smile since he had captured her.

"You know what this means though, right? You're going to have to turn yourself in."

"Obviously, however I don't know if I'll make it three steps out the door without being shot down by your people. I'm not their favorite person in the world as of this moment."

"They won't shoot," Holly said, taking Artemis by the hand and half dragging him towards the door. "Not if you're with me. So don't get your hopes up." He gave her a wry smile as he lead the way through the winding hallways in the direction of the front room.

"Holly," Artemis said, stopping her as they reached the front door, "If I do this, you must promise me that you won't leave me again like you did. You saw what it did to me. I'm not giving you your way against my mine just to have you leave me again."

"You won't have to worry about that, Artemis. I'm responsible for the lives I save." He rolled his eyes at her cliché and kissed her on the cheek. Her face burned where his lips had touched and a smile formed on her lips.

"We should do this before Trouble decided to kill us both for convince sake." Artemis said. Holly didn't bother to tell Artemis that Trouble wouldn't kill her seeing as he, not ten minutes ago, had proclaimed his love for her. If she was lucky, Artemis would never find that out. Instead, she opened the door, nearly blinding herself in the sunlight. When he eyes adjusted, it was to reveal a strange scene of déjà vu. Just as it had happened twenty minutes ago, Trouble was standing apparently alone in the exact middle of the lawn. However, there was one major difference this time that Holly noticed immediately. Trouble was holding a Neutrino in his right hand that was jacked up to level three, and was pointing it directly at them. He faltered when he saw that Holly was walking with Artemis but his finger stayed on the trigger.

"Trouble," called Holly as she and Artemis walked towards him, moving quickly, and expecting to be blown apart at any minute. Artemis had both palms up, showing Trouble (and the rest of the fairies) that he was unarmed. Trouble's hand tightened on his gun and Holly moved in front of Artemis, shielding the bottom half of him from Trouble's view. "Artemis is willing to peacefully give himself up."

"Holly, what are you doing protecting him?" Trouble spat, now only a few feet away from them. Artemis put a hand on Holly's elbow, conveying that he thought they were close enough; getting too close to an armed and angry LEP officer was never a thing to do.

"Trouble, according to section 8 paragraph A of the Lewis-Salveki bylaws, you cannot legally harm a convict who has willingly approached you and has offered to come quietly."

"I am no longer your commanding officer," Trouble said darkly. "The regulations don't apply to me anymore." Holly could tell that he was taking the comment she had made earlier to heart.

"Trouble, stop this madness. You must see reason." Artemis said, sounding irate. Holly reached back to put a hand on his chest, stopping him from saying anymore. This was not the time for Artemis' provoking comments.

"Shut up, Mudboy. The only 'reason' that I see right now is shooting you. Holly, stand aside. He means nothing to you. Why are you trying to save him?" When Holly did move or answer Trouble's eyes narrowed as he pondered his own question. Holly saw the pieces falling into place behind his eyes. His eyes flicked to the hand that was still on Artemis' chest that could have so easily been taken away once Artemis had stopped talking. It was as if the hand wanted to touch him…as if the owner of that hand wanted nothing more than to be with the man behind her. Realization hit Trouble so hard that he actually staggered. His gun, however, kept steadily pointing at Artemis' head, the only part that Holly couldn't cover. It was still at level three, which was deadly at this range.

"You and him." Trouble said, his voice dark and deadly. It was not a question; he knew. It all fit, it couldn't be denied. His right arm fell weakly by his side, his gun dangling loosely by his leg. He looked more agonized than Holly had ever seen him. Pity welled up inside of her as she stepped towards him, hoping that the physical closeness would be consoling. Artemis grabbed onto her hand, stopping her from moving too close, but it was close enough that Holly could see the dead look in Trouble's eyes as he came to the realization that Holly was not, and would never be his.

"Trouble," Holly said gently, "Let me explain."

"You don't need to explain." Trouble whispered as he raised the gun once more. Holly screamed but it was too late. The single shot that was fired found its mark.

_Dead on._


	12. Epilogue

_"I watched the clouds drifting away  
Still the sun can't warm my face  
I know it was destined to go wrong  
You were looking for the great escape  
To chase your demons away" ----"Forgiven" by Within Temptation_

_

* * *

  
__Epilogue _

Holly looked down at her hands.

She still had his crimson blood on them even though she had washed them at least a thousand times. She sill had the dirt on her uniform from where she had crawled to his side, despite the fact that she had had it dry-cleaned more times than she could count. She saw his eyes turn from their normal, bright color to grey and unseeing when she closed hers at night, still heard his small scream of pain ringing in her ears whenever there was silence, still felt his final breath on her cheek. The tingle of his lips on hers never fully left her mouth.

Tears that came easily now, never seemed to cease their constant flow as the ghost of his memory followed her everywhere. Even after all the weeks since his death, she still found herself waking up thinking that he was still alive, that she would be able to talk to him. It was harder at work where the reminders of him were numerous. Her co-workers averted their eyes when she walked by, knowing that if they even looked at her the wrong way, that she would bite their heads off. Her irate mood seemed to be permanent.

It was harder at night when she had nothing to distract herself from the dull pounding in her chest. His face popped into her head whenever she tried closed her eyes, causing her to cry herself to sleep almost every night. She sometimes would allow herself to think about him and imagine all of the "what ifs." She relived every single memory of him that her mind possessed and even invented some of her own when she longed for his touch just one more time. She loathed (but maybe secretly loved) the dreams that always accompanied those thoughts. He would float in and out of her dreams, sometimes so far away that she couldn't see him, and sometimes just out of her reach. She usually woke up sobbing, and would have to come to terms with the fact that she was going to have to face anther day without him yet again.

A hand on Holly's shoulder brought her out of her reverie, causing her a jolt of pain in her stomach just as it did every time she realized that she had let her mind go too far. She looked at the hand that was laid on the sleeve of her black dress, and then looked up at the person to whom the hand belonged. Foaly was sitting beside her on a foldout chair, his eyes watching her with pity. Holly's head rose to look at the tiny crowd of fairies that were sitting around her. There were maybe ten or twelve of them in all, including the Butler siblings, all looking at her expectantly. It had not surprised her that their numbers were so few, not many wanted to be associated with the person for whom this small memorial was honoring. But as they continued to watch her, Holly's stomach plummeted. They were expecting her to say something. After all, she had been the one who had threatened to quit the LEP if this small memorial service had not been scheduled and the small fountain, which was now happily shooting up water in front of her, had not been built. She looked back up at Foaly who gave her an encouraging nod, before standing up and walking slowly towards the fountain, which was made out of white marble and gold. It stood just past the LEP steps on a grassy knoll and depicted a small pot of gold that was constantly overflowing with water and then refilling with more water that was falling from the leaves of a marble oak tree above it. On the bottom of the pot with gold were the words "_Aurum Est Potestas" _carved out of the marble.

Holly faced the audience, which was slowly growing as those who were walking out of the LEP became interested in what she was going to say. She stood there for a moment, not knowing what she was going to say but already feeling the tears starting to well up. She had just opened her mouth to say how great of a person Artemis Fowl had been and what a help he had been to the LEP (which was the only reason that the Council had even let her put up the fountain), when her eyes fell upon Trouble Kelp. Trouble was sitting in the back, his collar up and a cap on his head, partially covering his eyes. He did not want to be there. After shooting Artemis, he had been reinstated as Commander of the LEPrecon for "heroic effort." He avoided Holly most days, too guilty or embarrassed to talk to her. Holly still felt surges of hate every time she saw him, however she knew that those would fade overtime. He still loved her, that much was obvious, but he also knew that he had killed any chance that he had had with her when he shot his gun. Holly looked at him for a few moments suddenly knowing exactly what she had to say, even though it was surly to be controversial.

"Some would say that Artemis Fowl deserved the fate that was given to him." Holly began, her voice soft but strong despite her tears. "Some would go so far as to say he got what was coming to him. Still others would congratulate the newly reinstated Commander Kelp for killing the unkillable Artemis Fowl," she gestured towards Trouble who sank lower into his seat. The crowd that was gathering now was pushing fifty. "However, I know better than to believe their words, for it was not been Trouble who had killed Artemis. He might have been the one to shoot the bullet, yes, but he would never be the one who planned it." The crowd was completely silent now; some gaping at her with their mouths slightly open while other looked her as though she were crazy with grief. Holly continued, her voice growing louder.

"Maybe it is better this way, maybe it is better that Artemis did not have to live his life knowing all of the atrocities that he has committed his family, against the LEP, against himself, against myself; for he was remorseful for these acts. He doesn't have to look at his scars, both physical and emotional, everyday and analyze what he could have differently. He doesn't have to be tempted everyday to do something inhumane or illegal just because his genius mind allows him to. He will never again feel the sting of love, or the cut of an excluding society. He will not have to remember his uncaring childhood, nor any of his failures that he always tried so hard to avoid. He will never again feel the cold wind on his face and be reminded of what he did to his father in the Arctic. He will never again visit the ancient oak tree that stands at a bend in the river, and remember what happened there so many years ago; what he started by going there. Maybe he's much happier never knowing that we fairies, as a race, can forget every good thing that someone has done for us the second that that person betrays us. We forget so easily that he has saved our race more than once from imminent discovery. I hope that he is somewhere, just being content with knowing that for once, he can be the one who doesn't have to remember." Many of the onlookers acquired and abashed or ashamed look as Holly continued.

"Sometimes I envy those who do not remember, because no matter what I do, I can not forget Artemis Fowl. Many people have told me that, after all he has done to me, I should be the last person to ever care that Artemis Fowl is dead. But despite everything, I forgive him because I knew who he was. He was a genius, someone who wanted to use his mind for good but didn't quite know how. He was my comrade in arms as we fought the countless threats against your homes and your families. He saved my life more times than I can count. He was the man I loved." Holly paused to take a ragged breath. She glanced at Trouble in the back row. He had paled considerably and was clenching his teeth. Holly was silent for a moment, trying to decide what to say next.

Taking a deep breath, and perhaps a bit shaky, she said, "He cared for our race more than he had ever cared for his own, and when we left him, he felt unneeded, and abandoned. There is no doubt in my mind that all Artemis ever wanted after his death, was for his legacy to never be forgotten by us. That is why he made his suicide plan so elaborate, so that maybe we will remember him and, in a way, not abandon him again. We, as a race, had forgotten about him. His own race didn't even acknowledge him. His family didn't remember him half the time because of all the other things that cluttered up their life. All he wanted was to be remembered. After all, the legacy of a hero is simply the remembrance of a name. If you get nothing else from my little speech, I hope that you remember one thing: Artemis Fowl did not die due to any genius of trickery brought on by the LEP. Artemis Fowl planned his death, he conquered death; and I at least, take comfort in knowing that he died with the knowledge that his last plan, his master plan, succeeded."

_Fin_

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**So that's the end of Within Temptation. I will have you know that I did not know who I was going to kill off when I posted the last chapter. I decided on Artemis because it was so obviously what was going to happen that many of you thought it too obvious. :) Thank you to all who read it and especially to those who reviewed WT, you have no idea how much it encouraged me. You guys are all awesome and all deserve Arty cookies! So anyway, I don't know when I'll have another story up, but rest assured that one will be coming (I just need an idea haha). I've got some stuff floating around in my head that could be possible future stories but we'll see where that goes. Thanks again for reading/reviewing. :)**

**WS **


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